J.C. Penney's new CEO is the first minority to ever fill the role
Retail giant J.C. Penney finally announced Home Depot executive Marvin Ellison as its new CEO on Monday, following a nearly 18-month-long search since the ouster of Ron Johnson in April 2013. And for the first time in the company's 112-year history, the top executive is a minority.
Not only is hiring a minority executive — Ellison is black — a first for J.C. Penney, but it's a rarity in general. At present, there are just six black and 10 Hispanic CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. And, as BuzzFeed notes, the retail industry in particular hasn't quite "kept pace with America's rapidly shifting demographics." Among other strip mall favorites, the publication called out Target, Gap, and Macy's as having white, male CEOs.
For its part, J.C. Penney hasn't highlighted Ellison's race so much as his qualifications. "He brings to the role, among other assets, and extensive knowledge of store operations and supply chain management as well as a demonstrated ability to successfully run large retail organizations," said J.C. Penney chairman Thomas Engibous in a statement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Winchcombe meteorite: space rock may reveal how water came to Earth
The Explainer New analysis of its violent journey confirms scientific theories on the origin of our planet's H2O
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?
Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published