Myron Edward "Mike" Ullman III (November 26, 1946 – August 6, 2024) was an American businessman. During his career, he led

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

and was the chairman and CEO of J. C. Penney. Ullman served as Penney's CEO twice: first from December 2004 through October 2011, when he was succeeded by

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

, and then again after Johnson's departure, from April 2013 through July 2015 when Ullman stepped down.

Background

Born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, on November 26, 1946, Ullman had six siblings, and his parents were residents of

Canfield, Ohio Canfield is a city in central Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,699 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb surrounded by Canfield Township located at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62 and 224. It is part of the Youn ...

, where he grew up. He attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and graduated in 1969; later that year, he married Cathy Emons, with whom he would go on to have six children.

Career

Ullman began his career at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and went on to work at the University of Cincinnati as its vice president for business affairs. In the 1980s, he worked for

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

and Hong Kong's Wharf Holdings. Ullman served as a White House Fellow in the

Office of the United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting United States foreign trade policies. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it ...

in 1981-82. Ullman joined

in 1988 and was its CEO from 1992 to 1995. Thereafter, he spent a stint at

DFS Group DFS Group (DFS) ( Chinese: 迪斐世) is a global travel retailer of luxury products based in Hong Kong. Established in 1960, its global network consists of stores located in major global airports and downtown locations featuring over 750 brand ...

, during which it was acquired by

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

. He then began his stints at J. C. Penney, during which he sought to differentiate it from its competition by embracing higher-end brands. On June 26, 2018, Ullman succeeded

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz owned the Seattle SuperS ...

as Chairman of

Starbucks Corporation Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

. He held that position until 2021. Ullman was on the boards of numerous

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

s, including serving as Chairman of

Mercy Ships Mercy Ships is an international charity based non-governmental organization that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world, providing Christian humanitarian aid, surgical care and surgical education in Africa, community ...

from 2001 to 2021 and as a founding board member of Mother's Choice, a

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

charity in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Health and death

Ullman had a

neurological disorder Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique diagnosis, treatment, and ...

which gradually limited his mobility. He adapted to this by often using a

Segway A Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter device invented by Dean Kamen. The name is a registered trademark of Segway Inc. It was brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, and then subsequently as the Segway PT. ''HT ...

. Ullman died on August 6, 2024, at the age of 77, from complications of cancer and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Sources differed on whether he died at his home in

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The m ...

, or a hospice in

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United St ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullman, Myron E. 1946 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American retail chief executives Businesspeople from Colorado Businesspeople from Ohio Businesspeople from Texas Businesspeople in coffee Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Colorado Deaths from cancer in Colorado Deaths from dementia in Colorado Directors of Starbucks JCPenney people People from Canfield, Ohio People from Montrose, Colorado White House Fellows University of Cincinnati alumni University of Cincinnati people 21st-century American philanthropists Philanthropists from Ohio