James (Jim) DePaul joined JCPenney in August 2019 as executive vice president of stores, reporting to Marc Rosen, chief executive officer. DePaul leads all aspects of stores, store operations, environment and design, and asset protection. He is responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations to deliver an engaging and productive customer experience, grow store traffic, and increase customer retention.

Prior to joining the Company, DePaul spent more than 20 years at Shopko Stores. He most recently served as chief operations officer, where he oversaw all stores, pharmacy, optical, supply chain, e-commerce operations, non-merchandise procurement, store operations, store development, loss prevention, and merchandise support. While at Shopko, DePaul made key improvements to customer service scores, operating expenses, shrink, and overall productivity. He also served as Shopko’s chief administrative officer and senior vice president of store operations. DePaul began his career in 1995 and spent three years at Target Corporation, working in merchandising and operations positions before joining Shopko in 1998 as a store manager.

DePaul holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration-accounting from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and an MBA in finance from Lakeland College in Wisconsin.