JCPenney named its first female CEO on Tuesday.
After losing its chief executive, Marvin Ellison, a turnaround expert, four months ago, the struggling department store chain has named Jill Soltau to help lead a turnaround.
The 51-year-old executive will join Penney on Oct. 15 from crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores, where she was president and CEO of the 850-store chain.
The news sent shares of Plano, Texas-based Penney up more than 11 percent in after-hours trading, to $1.70.
Her arrival can’t come soon enough.
Last week, Penney’s chief financial officer, Jeffrey Davis, resigned to take a job with Qurate Retail Group, owner of QVC and Zulily, while Ellison left to take the top job at Lowe’s.
Penney’s shares are down 50 percent this year.
“As we looked for the right person to lead this iconic company, we wanted someone with rich apparel and merchandising experience,” Paul Brown, a Penney director and chairman of the search committee, said.
Soltau was tapped to turn Jo-Ann Stores around in 2015 and had previously headed up regional drugstore chain, Shopko of Green Bay, Wis.
“I spent my entire career focused on the needs of a value-based consumer,” Soltau said in a statement. “Every position I’ve held has prepared me for this role.”