Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Accenture CEO Julie Sweet offers career advice, Brittney Griner is transferred to a Russian penal colony, and Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass is leaving the Fortune 500 to take over an iconic brand.
– Tailored to the job. Yesterday, we reported that Michelle Gass is leaving her CEO post at Kohl’s to head Levi Strauss. That’s a notable move for those who watch the gender makeup of the Fortune 500, which will soon lose another woman.
Gass has been an executive at Kohl’s since 2013 and took over as chief executive in 2018. During that time, Kohl’s has struggled to grow sales, which have remained flat at around $19 billion. And it’s not for lack of trying: Gass implemented a partnership with Sephora, bringing the beauty shops into Kohl’s stores, and partnered with Amazon to place return desks at Kohl’s locations.
Over the past year, activist investors have circled the beleaguered retailer with takeover bids and pushed for a leadership change. Despite the department chain’s shortcomings, outgoing Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh believes it has little to do with Gass’s business acumen and more with the state of the mass-market retail industry. “What if she hadn’t been there?” Bergh told my colleague Phil Wahba of the state Kohl’s would be in without Gass. “The question is a legitimate one.”
Michelle Gass, CEO of Kohl’s, speaks during the 2019 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C.Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images Gass will join Levi’s as president in early 2023 and succeed Bergh as CEO within the next 18 months.
Kohl’s is ranked No. 183 on the Fortune 500. With about $5.7 billion in revenue, compared to Kohl’s $19.1 billion, Levi Strauss does not make the rank. That means Gass will soon no longer be among female Fortune 500 CEOs, who numbered 44 at the time of the list’s publication in May. Following Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal’s July departure, Gass’s exit thins the ranks of female chiefs in retail, typically the sector that promotes women to the corner office most often.
Still, Levi’s is a business with cultural significance that belies its size. As the future CEO of the denim brand, Gass is ostensibly tasked with crafting and executing a new business strategy while continuing to shepherd the iconic role the brand has played in American culture since its founding in 1853.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Paige McGlauflin. Subscribe here.
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- Sweet advice. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet advises women aspiring to leadership roles to “be a learner.” In an interview with Fortune senior special correspondent Susie Gharib, Sweet added that the metaverse, sustainability, and leadership are three key areas for business success. Fortune
- In the dark. Russia is moving imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner to a penal colony. Her legal team said her destination is unknown but expects a notification through mail within two weeks. New York Times
- Coveted spot. Goldman Sachs announced its newest class of partners on Wednesday. Twenty-three of the 80 individuals invited to join the firm’s coveted top rank are women, the most ever promoted in one class. Bloomberg
- Splitting costs. Even divorce can't escape inflation. Higher legal fees, increased alimony and child support costs, and disputes over assets like houses amid high-interest rates have created greater tension during divorce proceedings, lawyers say. Wall Street Journal
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Former Google and StubHub executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy will join Xero as CEO. TikTok hired former NBA chief marketing officer Kate Jhaveri as global head of marketing. Pecan AI appointed Jen Grant to its board of directors. Sonja Trierweiler joins Global Network for Zero as vice president of community development. Pinterest appointed Xanthe Wells as vice president of creative.
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- Not so traditional. “Trad wives,” young women who promote traditional gender roles similar to the 1950s over having a career, are gaining popularity on TikTok after the pandemic exacerbated women’s burnout. While their lifestyles have garnered nearly 1 billion views on the platform, critics say the content glamorizes an American past that never existed and can even promote white supremacist or conservative views. Insider
- Safety threats. Cornell University suspended frat parties and social events on Monday after campus police issued alerts about allegations of sexual assault and multiple incidents of spiked drinks at off-campus residences affiliated with fraternities. CNN
- Pandemic stress. Pandemic-related stress has caused changes to menstrual cycles, a new study finds. Over half of surveyed women reported experiencing changes to their menstrual cycle, including length, duration, flow, and spotting, between March 2020 and May 2021. Twelve percent reported changes across all four symptoms. Washington Post
- Covered costs. A federal judge ordered Brown University to cover $1 million in attorney’s fees and legal expenses for a Title IX case against the university. Female athletes sued the Ivy League school over its plans to drop several varsity women’s sports in 2020. ESPN
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“Just because you’re inheriting the mantle doesn’t mean you should start from scratch…Do the job in a way that feels authentic but that doesn’t ignore the wisdom of the person who came before.”
—MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner on seeking advice from Rachel Maddow, who previously occupied the cable network’s weeknight seat.
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