Thomas Engibous, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of J. C. Penney Company, Inc. JCP, today responded to the
public disclosure of a letter to the Board of Directors from William Ackman,
head of the investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. and a J.
C. Penney director.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Mr. Engibous said, "The Company has made
significant progress since Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III returned as CEO four
months ago, under unusually difficult circumstances. Since then, Mike has led
significant actions to correct the errors of previous management and to return
the Company to sustainable, profitable growth."
Mr. Engibous noted that this includes critical work to stabilize the
organization, improve the Company's financial position, bring inventory back
to appropriate levels across all businesses, restore successful private
brands - notably in time for back-to-school - address issues in the Home
business, make the stores easier to shop, and reintegrate the online business
with stores.
"Mike is the right person to rebuild jcpenney by stabilizing its operations,
restoring confidence among our vendors, and getting customers back in our
stores. He has the overwhelming support of the Board of Directors, and we are
confident the Company is in good hands."
Mr. Engibous continued, "When Mike returned, it was understood that there
would be an effort to rebuild the management team, including a search process
to identify his successor. The CEO search process, which began in earnest
three weeks ago, will be careful and deliberate to ensure we find the right
long-term leader for jcpenney. In the meantime, Mike and the leadership team
will continue the work under way to improve the Company's performance and get
back on a path to profitable growth."
Mr. Engibous concluded, "The Board of Directors strongly disagrees with Mr.
Ackman and is extremely disappointed that his letter was released to the media
at the same time that it was sent to the Board. Mr. Ackman has been integrally
involved in the Board's activities since he joined two years ago. This
includes leading a campaign to appoint the Company's previous CEO, under whose
leadership performance deteriorated precipitously. His latest actions are
disruptive and counterproductive at an important stage in the Company's
recovery."
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