Bon-Ton CEO Kathryn Bufano resigns, COO William Tracy succeeds

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
May 10, 2017

The Bon-Ton Stores on Tuesday announced that President and CEO Kathryn Bufano will depart from the company upon expiration of her contract on August 25, 2017. William Tracy, Bon-Ton Stores COO, will succeed Bufano as President and CEO, effective August 25, 2017.

 
Bufano is parting ways with the company after joining as CEO in 2014. She joined the company from Belk where she served as President and Chief Merchandising Officer for 6 years. Bufano will remain with Bon-Ton Stores to ensure a seamless transition.

She commented, "Bon-Ton has a long and successful history as the hometown store for consumers, and I am proud of the accomplishments we made during my tenure as CEO.  I look forward to working with Bill to ensure a smooth transition, and wish Bon-Ton and the entire team the best of luck in the future."

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Tracy, her successor, has served as COO of Bon-Ton since July 2015. He possesses over 40 years of retail experience that he obtained in management positions at Hudson’s Bay Company, Nine West, and Lord & Taylor among others.
 
Bon-Ton also announced the promotion of General Merchandise Manager Chad Stauffer to EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer. He will be responsible for leading the company’s merchandise strategy and he will report to the company’s CEO.
 
Stauffer has served at Bon-Ton for over 9 years, most recently as SVP and General Merchandise Manager of Center Core and Children’s. Like Bufano, Stauffer worked at Belk, and he held positions at Sports Authority, Kohl’s, and JCPenney among others.