Sears Hires Capital One Executive as New CFO

Sears Holdings said Monday that J. Miles Reidy, an executive at Capital One Financial, will join the department store operator as chief financial officer starting in October.

The appointment comes after CFO Craig Monaghan left the retailer in January after only five months on the job. William Crowley, Sears' chief administrative officer, has been serving as chief financial officer on an interim basis.

Sears Holdings operates Kmart and Sears stores, and is led by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, who brought Kmart out of bankruptcy in 2003 and orchestrated the takeover of Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 2005.

At the helm of Sears, Lampert has focused on cutting costs and building up the retailer's cash position. Investors snapped up its shares, betting Lampert would either sell stores to cash in on valuable real estate or use the excess cash to make acquisitions.

But this year, Sears' share have fallen 20% as investors fret over its declining sales. Last month the retailer reported a 40% decline in second-quarter profit as sales fell and it marked down prices.

Sears said Reidy served in a number of senior financial and planning positions at credit card issuer Capital One, including chief financial officer of the company's credit card division and most recently, as financial cost executive reporting to the chief risk officer.

He will report to Crowley. Sears shares were down in morning Nasdaq trading.