J.C. Penney adds six new vice presidents

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 4, 2020

J.C. Penney has added six new vice presidents to its executive team. 

Wendy Santana has been named as the company's vice president of business development. In the role, she will identify and oversee partnerships and strategic business initiatives, the company said. She will report to Truett Horne, senior vice president and chief transformation officer. Santana comes to J.C. Penney after 20 years at Li & Fung – LF Americas/Oxford Collections, where she served as executive vice president.

Jill Feldman has been named vice president of marketing, after most recently serving as vice president of marketing and brand strategy at Famous Footwear. Previously, she has also served as senior director of e-commerce and digital marketing at Famous Footwear, and marketing manager at Macy's, among other roles. 

Roger Worak will now serve as vice president of customer engagement and insights. He joins J.C. Penney from Front Burner Brands, where he served as vice president of digital engagement. Previously, he served as director of development and business intelligence and later as senior director of digital marketing, CRM and loyalty at Hard Rock International.

Both Feldman and Worak will serve under Shawn Gensch, executive vice president and chief customer officer. 

Dan Matarelli will join as vice president of digital marketing, having recently served as director of digital marketing at Sprouts Farmers Market. 

Jeff Csuy will serve as vice president of merchandise strategy and operations. Bringing over 30 years of experience, Csuy most recently served as senior vice president GMM merchandising at Jo-Ann Stores. Previously, he served as senior vice president of apparel, footwear and product development at Gander Mountain as as senior vice president, chief merchandising officer at Shopko.

In October, Robin Beuthin joined the company as vice president of creative marketing. Previously, she served as vice president of retail brand and creative for The Walt Disney Company. 

All appointments were made under J.C. Penney CEO, Jill Soltau, as the retailer continues to execute a major turnaround strategy.  

“We continue to build a strong and talented team of leaders at J.C. Penney who will champion us through our Plan for Renewal,” said Soltau.

“These appointments ensure we are set up for success as we work tirelessly to drive traffic, fuel growth, and provide our customers with compelling merchandise and engaging, shared experiences at every touchpoint.”

In 2019, J.C. Penney further added to its leadership team by naming Mike Robbins as executive vice president, chief stores and supply chain officer, Truett Horne as CTO and Victor Ejarque Lopez as senior vice president and general merchandising manager for women’s apparel.