When Michelle Gass assumed the top job at Kohl’s in 2018, it was a textbook case of CEO succession. The US retail chain, like most companies, had decided to pick an internal candidate and did so through a very public horse race that pitted Gass against a fellow Kohl’s executive.

As Gass begins her second stint as CEO this week, this time at Levi Strauss, her path to the top has looked very different. When Levi said in 2022 that Gass would leave her perch at Kohl’s to join the denim maker as president, the company all but assured her the top job. The public announcement underscored that she would take over within 18 months, and until then would work alongside outgoing CEO Chip Bergh to learn the ropes.

Bloomberg Opinion