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Ex-Walgreens leader steps into new chief role at Kohl’s

Kohl’s has a new chief operating officer, having hired on former Walgreens e-commerce chief Sona Chawla.

November 23, 2015

Sona Chawla, an ex-Walgreens ecommerce chief, is taking the newly-created role of chief operating officer for Kohl's, directing the retailer's stores and digital business and is now on the list of potential future CEO candidates.

The move is directly tied to Kohl's strategy to better meld its brick-and-mortar and online retail businesses, according to a Fortunereport.

"We are looking to make the connection for customers between our stores and our online experience in a way that is seamless and unique," CEO Kevin Mansell told Fortune. "In order to do that properly, you absolutely have to have someone who is responsible for all of those different functions."

The COO position is a new one for Kohl's and Chawla will start in her new job as of Nov. 30. She had served as Walgreen's president of digital and chief marketing officer. The appointment, according to Fortune, is directly tied to Kohl's efforts to shore up its digital brand in light of increasing competition from online and offline retailers.

Two years ago Kohl's brought on Michelle Gass to serve as chief merchandising and marketing officer from her leadership perch at Starbucks. She along, with Chawla, are viewed as the top two candidates to replace Mansell, who has served as Kohl's CEO since 2008 and has been with the retailer for 33 years.

 "We want the next CEO of Kohl's to be like the previous CEOs: developed internally," Mansell told Fortune.