It was supposed to be the start of a fresh chapter. Instead, it turned into one of the most awkward boardroom exits in recent retail history.
In May 2025, Kohl’s shook the industry by firing its CEO, Ashley Buchanan, just four months after he took the job. He hadn't even finished setting up his office before the board showed him the door. The reason? A messy internal investigation into vendor transactions and undisclosed personal ties.
Honestly, the timing couldn't have been worse. Kohl’s has been struggling to find its footing for years, and this “self-inflicted crisis,” as some analysts called it, felt like a punch to the gut for a brand already reeling from sluggish sales.
The Investigation: What Went Wrong?
The trouble started when Kohl’s board of directors, through their audit committee, brought in outside counsel to look into some suspicious deals. What they found wasn't just a minor paperwork error.
The investigation revealed that Buchanan had directed the company to do business with a vendor founded by someone he had a "personal relationship" with. But it wasn't just a friendly handshake deal. The terms were described as highly unusual and favorable to the vendor. We're talking about a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement and contracts for products that most retailers would have scrutinized much more closely.
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According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the person at the center of this was Chandra Holt, a former executive at Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart. It turns out Buchanan and Holt had been in a romantic relationship that went back years—starting during their time together at Walmart—and they allegedly kept it under wraps from their employers at Michaels and eventually Kohl’s.
Why the "For Cause" Label Matters
When a company fires a CEO "for cause," it’s basically the corporate equivalent of a scorched-earth policy.
- Forfeited Equity: Buchanan lost all his stock awards and equity.
- Bonus Repayment: He was forced to pay back a pro-rata portion of his $2.5 million signing bonus.
- Board Removal: He was immediately stripped of his seat on the board.
Kohl’s made it very clear: this wasn't about the company's financial performance (though that wasn't great either). It was about a fundamental breach of the company’s code of ethics. You can't just funnel millions to a partner without telling anyone. That’s Business 101.
The Fallout: A Retailer in "Perpetual Chaos"
Neil Saunders, a managing director at GlobalData, didn't mince words when he called the situation "a blow upon a bruise." Kohl’s has had three CEOs in three years. First, Michelle Gass left for Levi Strauss. Then Tom Kingsbury took the reins as a turnaround specialist. Buchanan was supposed to be the long-term answer.
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When Kohl's fires CEO after investigation into conflicts of interest, it sends a signal to investors that the vetting process might be broken. How did the board miss a long-standing relationship that apparently followed Buchanan through multiple high-level jobs?
The Financial Backdrop
While the firing was "unrelated to performance," you can't ignore the numbers. At the time of the firing:
- First-quarter comparable sales were expected to drop by about 4%.
- The stock had been sliding as middle-income shoppers pulled back on spending.
- The company was already dealing with layoffs and store closures to save cash.
Michael Bender Steps Into the Fire
After the Buchanan exit, Board Chair Michael Bender had to drop everything and become the interim CEO. Bender is a retail veteran with time at Walmart and Eyemart Express, but he was essentially handed a burning building.
The board eventually felt he was doing a good enough job to remove the "interim" tag in November 2025, making him the permanent leader. They’re hoping his steady hand can finally end the "revolving door" at the executive level. But it's an uphill battle. Between the pressure of new tariffs and the constant fight for market share against giants like Amazon and Target, Bender doesn't have much room for error.
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Lessons from the Kohl's Conflict of Interest Scandal
This whole mess is a cautionary tale for anyone in leadership. It shows that even if you're hired to save a company, you aren't above the rules.
- Transparency is Non-Negotiable: If you have a personal tie to a vendor, disclose it immediately. The "it's none of their business" excuse never works when millions of dollars are changing hands.
- Vetting Needs to Go Deeper: Boards can't just look at a resume. They need to understand the network an executive brings with them.
- Culture Starts at the Top: When a CEO breaks the rules, it trickles down. By moving fast, the Kohl's board at least tried to stop the rot before it spread to the rest of the company.
What Should Investors and Shoppers Watch For?
If you're keeping an eye on Kohl's, watch the next few quarterly earnings reports. Bender is doubling down on "operational excellence"—which is corporate-speak for "stop making mistakes and keep the shelves stocked with stuff people actually want." They're also leaning back into things like jewelry and petites, items that the previous leadership tried to scale back.
Next Steps for Stakeholders:
- Monitor Governance Filings: Keep an eye on the 2026 proxy statements to see if the board has implemented stricter auditing for vendor contracts.
- Watch the "Sephora Effect": The shop-in-shops remain Kohl's best hope for bringing in younger foot traffic. If that partnership starts to wobble, the company is in real trouble.
- Check Management Stability: If Bender can stay in the seat for more than 18 months without a scandal, that alone will be a victory for Kohl's.
It’s been a rough ride for the Wisconsin-based retailer. But by cutting ties with Buchanan so quickly, they showed they'd rather deal with the embarrassment of a four-month CEO than the long-term damage of an ethical scandal. Whether that's enough to save the brand remains to be seen.
To stay ahead of further shifts in the retail landscape, you should regularly review the SEC Form 8-K filings for any major retailer you're invested in, as these "current report" filings are where bombshells like executive firings are first officially disclosed to the public.