Michael J Bender has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Kohl’s, after serving as Interim CEO from May 2025 to November 2025. He has also been a Board Member since July 2019, contributing to strategic oversight and corporate governance.
He announced this move via a linkedin post.
In addition to his Kohl responsibilities, Bender serves as Executive in Residence at Wunderkind since October 2023, Senior Advisor at Simon-Kucher since August 2023, Channel Partner at Risk International since July 2023, and Board Member at Spotless Brands since April 2023. He also serves on the boards of Flexe, Included Health, Wawa, Inc., and Acuity Brands, with memberships in Audit and Governance Committees across these organisations.
Before Kohl, Bender was President and CEO at Eyemart Express from September 2017 to April 2022, and held multiple leadership positions at Walmart eCommerce between February 2009 and February 2017, including Chief Operating Officer, EVP and President of the West Business Unit, SVP of the Mountain Division, and VP, Regional General Manager. At Cardinal Health, he held roles from April 2003 to November 2007, culminating as President/GM, Retail and Alternate Care.
Bender also served as VP, Store Operations at Victoria’s Secret & Co. from August 1999 to May 2002 and held multiple field, headquarters, sales, operations, finance, and strategy roles at PepsiCo from June 1986 to July 1999.
