Friday, July 18, 2025

Nordstrom hires Dollar General’s turnaround CFO behind stock surge

Good morning. Kelly Dilts turned heads by steering Dollar General through massive operational shifts and soaring stock gains—now she’s set to bring her playbook from deep discounts to the deep pockets of the luxury world of Nordstrom.

Dilts resigned from her role of EVP and CFO at Dollar General (No. 112 on the Fortune 500) on July 11, and her final day is Aug. 28, according to an SEC filing. The company has begun a search for her successor. Dollar General declined to provide additional comments. On Aug. 29, Dilts will join Nordstrom, Inc. (No. 291) as CFO, the retailer announced on Thursday.

Kelly Dilts will join Nordstrom, Inc. as CFO on Aug. 29. Courtesy of Dollar General CorporationDilts became CFO at Dollar General in May 2023. She joined the company in July 2019 as SVP of finance, where she oversaw financial planning, procurement, margin planning, decision science and analytics, and investor relations. Previously, she served as EVP and CFO at Francesca’s Holding Corp. and held senior finance roles at other major retailers.

With nearly three decades of financial leadership experience, Dilts was praised by Nordstrom co-CEO Erik Nordstrom in a statement, calling her a leader with “a proven track record of driving strong results at large-scale omnichannel retailers.” He expressed confidence in her ability to help strengthen the business. As of late May 2025, Nordstrom is no longer a publicly traded company, having completed its transition to private ownership under the Nordstrom family and El Puerto de Liverpool.

In Thursday’s announcement, Dilts said, “Nordstrom is a company with a strong legacy, a clear sense of purpose, and a deep commitment to its customers, employees, and brand partners. I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to build on that foundation.” Dilts succeeds Cathy Smith, who left Nordstrom in March to join Starbucks as CFO.

Shrinking ‘shrink’
Dollar General has faced notable challenges, responding to shifting consumer needs, regulatory pressures, and competitive headwinds, along with CEO transitions. In a December 2023 earnings call, Dilts said that “shrink”—an industry term referring primarily to theft—“has been pretty significant for us for a while, and it’s definitely going to carry into 2024.”

She has credited improvements in this area to the company’s Back-to-Basics strategy. Notably, Dollar General used AI to analyze self-checkout purchases, identify stores with the highest levels of theft and mis-scanned items. That determined the company’s decision, led by CEO Todd Vasos, to eliminate the option of self-checkout in the vast majority of its stores.

In Q1 2025, Dollar General’s gross profit as a percentage of sales rose to 31%, up by 78 basis points, a gain Dilts attributed to reduced shrink and higher inventory markups. “Our shrink mitigation efforts have continued to drive positive results, including a year-over-year improvement of 61 basis points in the first quarter,” she said on the June 3 earnings call.

A top-performing retail stock
Amid tariffs and inflation, Dollar General and other discount retailers have attracted more middle- and higher-income shoppers. After strong Q1 results, Dollar General raised its full-year guidance.

DG stands out as the leading consumer/retail stock and one of the biggest movers since the market’s February high. DG’s share price increased from about $74 in mid-February to more than $113 by mid-July, a gain of over 50%. It is especially noteworthy as the leading gainer among major retailers and a driving force behind the S&P 500’s latest rally.

For the rest of the year, Morningstar equity analyst Dan Su expects Dollar General to remain attentive to tariffs, given that about 20% of sales are from imports. Su told me that the company has done a “solid job” in attracting new shoppers, and he anticipates continued investments in merchandising, store renovations, and labor to sustain same-store sales growth.

As Dilts moves on to Nordstrom, she will have the opportunity to once again execute a transformative strategy at another major retailer.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

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More Fortune 500 Power Moves

Leeny Oberg, CFO and EVP of development at Marriott International (No. 171) has decided to retire effective March 31, 2026, after spending more than two decades with the U.S. hotel operator. Oberg, CFO since 2016, will be succeeded by Jen Mason, who joined Marriott in 1992 and currently serves as global officer, treasurer and risk management. Mason is also a former CFO of the U.S. and Canada at the company. Shawn Hill was promoted to the role of EVP and chief development officer, effective Jan. 1. Oberg has been in that role since February 2023.

Daniel S. Tucker, EVP and CFO of Southern Company (No. 161), an energy provider, plans to retire. David P. Poroch, currently SVP, comptroller and chief accounting officer, was promoted to succeed Tucker, effective July 31. Tucker will transition to a senior advisory role reporting to the CEO until his retirement on Oct. 1. Poroch began his career with Southern Company in 2012 as VP and chief audit executive of Southern Company Services. From there, he served as EVP, CFO and treasurer of Georgia Power and then EVP and CFO at Southern Company Gas in 2021. Before joining Southern Company, he was a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.

More notable moves this week:

Mukul Mehta was promoted to CFO of pharmaceutical company Novartis (ECN), effective March 16, 2026. Mukul succeeds Harry Kirsch, who has served as CFO since 2013, and will retire from Novartis after a 22-year career with the company. Harry will continue in his role as CFO until March 15, 2026. Mukul brings over 20 years of experience at Novartis. He was recently appointed to the role of head of BPA, Digital Finance and Tax, where he will continue until March of next year. His career includes serving as CFO International for three years, ad-interim President International, CFO Pharmaceuticals business unit, CFO Novartis Business Services, CFO Pharmaceuticals Europe business, and Country CFO of France, Poland, and Norway.

Brandy Richardson was appointed CFO of multi-brand luxury retailer Saks Global, effective Aug. 18. Richardson succeeds Interim CFO Mark Weinsten, who joined Saks Global to lead the company's finance organization through the initial stages of its transformation following its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) in December 2024. With nearly 25 years of experience, Richardson joins Saks Global from Tailored Brands, Inc., where she has served as EVP and CFO. Richardson spent the majority of her career at NMG, where she held several finance leadership roles of increasing responsibility over her 15-year tenure.

Sandy Mahatme was appointed CFO and chief business officer of Vor Bio (Nasdaq: VOR), a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Mahatme joins Vor Bio with more than 30 years of executive leadership experience. He most recently served as president, chief operating officer, and CFO of National Resilience, Inc., a biomanufacturing company he cofounded in 2020.

Mark Mesler has stepped down from his position as CFO of Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), effective July 7, according to an SEC filing. Mesler had been on medical leave since September 2024. During his absence, Priya Gupta has served as CFO and acting principal financial officer. Gupta will continue in these roles. Harsh Rungta will also remain as SVP of finance and chief accounting officer and principal accounting officer.

Karyn Ovelmen, EVP and CFO of Newmont (NYSE: NEM), one of the world’s biggest gold miners, has resigned, effective July 11. She will be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Legal Officer Peter Wexler while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Sarah C. Young was appointed CFO at Bell Partners, a privately held company specializing in apartment investment and management, and will succeed John Tomlinson upon his planned retirement effective Aug. 22. Young joined the company on July 14 and will report to Lili Dunn, CEO and president of Bell Partners. After his retirement, Tomlinson will remain as an advisor to the company through the end of 2025. Young previously served as CFO and senior managing director at Quarterra Group, a subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar, where she worked for 10 years. Before that, Young was part of the finance group at Walton Street Capital.

Corleen Roche was appointed CFO of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IOVA), a commercial biotechnology company, effective Aug. 6. Roche brings to the role 30 years of experience in the biotech and life sciences industry. Most recently, she served as CFO of CG Oncology. Her previous roles included CFO of Immunome, U.S. CFO at Biogen, North America CFO of CSL Behring, and various CFO roles within Sandoz, Wyeth and Pfizer.

Big Deal

A survey by Gartner, Inc. finds that 37% of CFOs are already pausing some capital spending as we enter the second half of 2025. This pause is driven by a mix of cost pressures, policy shifts, and geopolitical risks.

The survey of 197 finance leaders, conducted on June 19, revealed a strong inclination toward caution, with many willing to pause or deprioritize capital spending. Three percent of respondents reported pausing or deprioritizing more than 25% of their capital spending for 2025.

“There is a near absence of planned increases in capital expenditures in the second half of 2025,” said Alexander Bant, chief of research in the Gartner Finance practice. Bant noted that this reflects a cautious strategy in response to the current economic and policy uncertainty facing organizations.

Another key finding: 67% of finance leaders are either in the process of cutting costs, have already completed cost reductions, or plan to do so in the second half of the year.