• by Sarah Mahoney , November 8, 2022

Michelle Gass, one of America’s few female chief executive officers, is leaving Kohl’s and heading to Levi Strauss & Co. She’ll become president, reporting to Chip Bergh, the current president and CEO, and succeed him as CEO within 18 months.

Gass will lead the Levi’s brand, responsible for digital and commercial operations, and is expected to start in early January.

The company cited Gass’ exceptional direct-to-consumer and omnichannel experience in making the appointment. “Her track record of building brands and meaningful innovation is a perfect fit for the skills needed to lead this company for the long term and create significant value for our stakeholders,” says Bob Eckert, chairman of the LS&Co. Board of Directors, in the announcement.

Before joining Kohl’s, Gass spent 17 years at Starbucks.

She joins Levi’s at a time when it is intensifying its D2C efforts and expanding its portfolio, recently moving into activewear with the acquisition of Beyond Yoga.

In quarterly results released last month, the San Francisco-based apparel brand reported a 1% increase in revenues to $1.5 billion, with net income declining 11% to $173 billion. Sales of its Levi’s brand gained 6%, and revenues at Docker’s increased 13%.

Gass’ appointment follows a period of tumult at Kohl’s, as the department store chain fended off unsolicited takeover efforts and a sputtering transformation effort.

In September, an activist shareholder group at Kohl’s called for Gass’ ouster. Ancora blamed Gass for Kohl’s weakening stock price and “a dramatic decline in sales.”

Meanwhile, Kohl’s says it has kicked off a search for a new CEO and named Tom Kingsbury, a director and former president of Burlington Stores, as interim CEO, effective Dec. 2.

The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin retailer also issued an update on its third-quarter results and says it expects a comparable store sales decrease of 6.9% and a 7.2% fall in net revenues.

Full results are expected next week.