Macy's CFO to step down after just under 2 years

By

Robin Driver

Published
Apr 8, 2020

American department store operator Macy’s, Inc., which was recently dropped from the S&P 500, announced on Tuesday that executive vice president and chief financial officer Paula Price will be leaving the company as of May 31, 2020, and revealed that it has begun an external search for her replacement.

 
Price stepped into her current role in July 2018 and will continue to serve as EVP and CFO until May. Following her departure, Price will remain as an advisor at the company through November 2020.
 
The executive is currently a member of the board of directors of Accenture and has previously served on the boards of Western Digital, Blue Cross Shield of Massachusetts, and Dollar General.

Prior to this, Price, who has a BSc in accounting from DePaul University and an MBA in finance and strategy from the University of Chicago, was EVP and chief financial officer for the US at Ahold, and SVP, controller and chief accounting officer at CVS Caremark.
 
Having begun her career as director of financial planning and analysis at Kraft Foods in 1990, the certified public accountant went on to work at Diageo, Prudential Financial, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
 
Price also served as a senior lecturer in Harvard Business School’s accounting and management unit starting 2014, before transitioning to become a visiting executive at the same institution in 2018.
 
“I want to thank Paula for her leadership and contribution to Macy’s, Inc. She has built a strong finance leadership team, and we are fortunate to have a very deep bench to draw on to ensure a smooth transition,” said Macy’s chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette in a release.
 
“We will continue to take all necessary actions to ensure that Macy’s, Inc. emerges from this pandemic on solid footing and ready to serve our customers,” the CEO added, referring to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. “Paula remains a critical part of our plan, and while I respect her decision, I also appreciate the long runway she is giving us for this transition.”
 
As Macy’s attempts to deal with the ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including the fallout from continuing store closures, the retailer announced at the end of last month that it is temporarily furloughing most of its 130,000 employees.