Penney’s Names a New CFO
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has appointed Stephanie Plaines, an executive with experience across the retail and real estate sectors, as chief financial officer with responsibility for all financial activities.
Plaines’ responsibilities include financial strategy, real estate, capital deployment, credit services, sourcing and procurement, treasury and accounting. Penney’s, in its announcement Thursday, indicated that Plaines will also apply “decades of experience working with data to improve business performance and profitability.”
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Plaines succeeds Brian Cashman, who has been serving as interim CFO since March 2021. “Brian will support Stephanie’s transition through the end of August,” a Penney’s spokeswoman said Thursday.
“J.C. Penney is investing for the long term while executing our customer-focused strategy to enhance shopping experiences and build brand loyalty,” said Marc Rosen, Penney’s chief executive officer. “Stephanie brings more than 20 years of high-performance strategic and financial leadership with best-in-class global retailers. Her deep strengths in data-forward financial management and track record of value creation will make her an invaluable adviser throughout the business as we develop new digital and technology capabilities to advance our transformation agenda.” Rosen, a former Levi Strauss & Co. and Walmart Inc. executive, became Penney’s CEO in November 2021.
Plaines most recently served as CFO at Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate services company. Earlier in her career she held senior executive positions at Starbucks Corp., Walmart and Ahold Delhaize. Plaines serves as a board director and audit committee member for Nielsen Holdings plc and The Clorox Company.
“I’m excited to join such an iconic American company during this time of pivotal transformation,” said Plaines in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with Marc, his leadership team and the finance organization to advance the next chapter of growth for the company, drive customer-centric, sustainable expansion and continue to position J.C. Penney to win in the marketplace.”
The Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney Co. Inc. came close to liquidation but was lifted out of bankruptcy in December 2020 by the Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, which acquired Penney’s retail and operating assets.
Penney’s first-lien secured lenders, many of whom also supplied its debtor-in-possession financing, took over the property business that includes 160 real estate locations and six distribution centers. A vast amount of debt was erased from Penney’s books through the transfer of ownership.
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