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Empresas y finanzas

Sears names D'Ambrosio CEO after 3-year search


    LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp ended a three-year search for a new chief executive, selecting Lou D'Ambrosio, a former technology executive with no retail experience.

    Former Avaya Inc CEO D'Ambrosio succeeds Bruce Johnson, who had operated as interim CEO since 2008. Johnson will become executive vice president of off-mall businesses and supply chain, Sears said in a statement.

    Sears has struggled in recent years, losing market share to more aggressive retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc in a weak U.S. economy.

    Analysts have criticized Sears for relying too heavily on cost-cutting to boost sales, rather than improving its merchandise mix and customer service.

    D'Ambrosio, 46, was chief executive of Avaya from 2006 to 2008 and served on the company's board of directors.

    He stepped down from that CEO post in 2008 for medical reasons, Sears said. Kim Freely, a Sears spokeswoman, declined to comment on the specifics of that decision or D'Ambrosio's current health.

    During Johnson's tenure as CEO, Sears also was led by Chairman Edward Lampert, a hedge fund manager who parlayed a controlling stake in Kmart into the purchase of Sears.

    Patricia Edwards, chief investment officer at Trutina Financial, said that hiring D'Ambrosio, who took Avaya private, is a sign that Lampert is probably looking for somebody to get Sears some money for some of its assets, such as brands like Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances.

    "It's obviously not about bringing Sears back to retail dominance," she said, noting that D'Ambrosio's background was not as a retailer.

    "From the beginning of our CEO search, we were determined to find a leader with information and technology experience who could catalyze the transformation of our portfolio of businesses in the context of the evolution of the retail industry that is occurring more broadly," Sears Chairman Edward Lampert said in a statement.

    Over the last six months D'Ambrosio has worked with Sears Holdings as a consultant to the board of directors on strategic and operational initiatives. Prior to joining Avaya in 2002, he spent 16 years at IBM.

    (Reporting by Nichola Groom and Michael Erman; editing by Carol Bishopric)