JCPenney names Joe McFarland as Executive VP of Stores

J. C. Penney Company has appointed Joe McFarland as Executive Vice President of Stores, effective immediately. McFarland brings over 20 years of retail operations experience to JCPenney, and succeeds Tony Bartlett.

"Joe is an outstanding, solutions-driven leader with a proven track record of implementing in-store omnichannel initiatives, driving operational excellence and superior customer service within a highly competitive retail landscape," said Marvin R. Ellison, CEO of JCPenney.

In his role, McFarland will lead the operations of all 1,000 JCPenney stores. His responsibilities will also include the implementation and support of numerous key JCPenney initiatives, including same day pickup, in-store jcp.com fulfillment, improving sales productivity and more. Additionally, McFarland is charged with simplifying operations, enabling the voice of associates and promoting a service culture across the entire stores organisation.

Prior to this, McFarland worked at The Home Depot for over 20 years where he held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as the president of the Northern and Western Divisions. McFarland was responsible for the sales and operations of up to 800 stores in 24 states, and led a team of up to 110,000 associates.

McFarland, since August 2015, has been pursuing his passion of providing affordable housing to families in need. He and his wife have established an Atlanta-based non-profit real estate company to help achieve this goal. He is a Gulf War and Desert Storm veteran, having served six years in the United States Marine Corps. McFarland is also a board member of the Lisa Beth Gerstman Foundation and City of Hope.