Kohl’s CEO firing related to steering business to romantic partner, WSJ says

After Kohl’s (KSS) announced this morning that it had appointed Michael Bender as Interim CEO, effective immediately, following the board’s decision to terminate Ashley Buchanan for cause after an investigation conducted by outside counsel and overseen by the audit committee of the board determined Buchanan violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest, The Wall Street Journal’s Suzanne Kapner and Sarah Nassaue reported that people familiar with the situation said Buchanan was fired after the company discovered he had instructed the retailer to enter into a “highly unusual” business deal involving a woman with whom he has had a romantic relationship, Chandra Holt.