J.C. Penney Co Inc said Chief Executive Officer Myron Ullman will leave the retailer and step down from its board in February.

The news came less than a week after the department store chain named Ron Johnson, Apple senior vice president of retail, as its next CEO.

Ullman was set to stay on as executive chairman for an intermediate period.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan and Phil Wahba; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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