The news: Kohl’s fired CEO Ashley Buchanan for cause following an internal investigation that found he violated company policies by directing business to a woman with whom he has had a romantic relationship, per The Wall Street Journal.
According to the company, Buchanan facilitated unusually favorable terms for the vendor and approved a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement involving the same individual. He failed to disclose the relationship, as required by Kohl’s code of ethics, leading the company to conclude his conduct warranted termination for cause.
The irony: The leadership shakeup came on the same day Kohl’s issued preliminary Q1 results that outpaced Wall Street expectations: