BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 4, 2000 ISSUE
THE CORPORATION "It Doesn't Get Any Bigger Than This" It's nice to be in demand. Last spring, Sears Roebuck (S), J.C. Penney (JCP), and Kmart (KM) were all shopping for new CEOs, and Chuck Conaway, then president of drugstore chain CVS Corp. (CVS), was on at least two short lists. In the end, Conaway took the top job at Kmart Corp. One reason he favored the company: The discount retail sector is hot. Kmart, however, is not--which is another reason Conaway was drawn to the chain. Turning around one of the biggest names in retailing, he says, would be the ultimate career victory. ''This is the Super Bowl,'' declares Conaway, an avid sportsman who bow-hunts big game in South Africa. ''It doesn't get any bigger than this.'' Conaway, however, has no experience in apparel retailing--his background is in drugstores, and his training is in finance and accounting. That weighed heavily on the Kmart board, which at first worried that the 40-year-old Conaway wasn't seasoned enough to run a $37 billion company. But when they met him, his keen sense of store operations and his enthusiasm won the day. ''Once you spend quality time with him, the reservations go away,'' says director James B. Adamson, chairman, CEO, and president of Advantica Restaurant Group Inc., operator of the Denny's restaurant chain. Board members say they found Conaway a quick study right from the get-go. During a tour of some Kmart stores just before he was hired, Conaway sprang through the aisles, ticking off many of the problems the board knew had to be addressed. ''From that minute on, there's been a strategic meshing with the board,'' says director Thomas T. Stallkamp, former president of DaimlerChrysler Corp. and now CEO of MSX Inc., an automotive supplier. CHAIN REACTION. He may be new to apparel retailing, but Conaway's record in the drugstore business is impressive. He co-founded Reliable Drug Stores Inc. in Indianapolis when he was 29. Three years later, in 1992, he jumped ship to Woonsocket (R.I.)-based CVS, where he rose through the chain's finance ranks. When CVS bought two larger chains, Revco DS Inc. in 1997 and Arbor Drugs Inc. in 1998, Conaway got the job of integrating the companies' operations. That's where, he says, he developed into a stickler for measuring performance and for demanding accountability. But he's not averse to handing out rewards for a job well done, such as stock to top-performing clerks. ''I'm a big believer in capitalism,'' he says. Conaway is going to need everything he's got to get within shouting distance of No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. But as he has proven while hunting buffalo and lions in South Africa, Conaway loves a good chase. By Joann Muller in Troy, Mich. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS A Kmart Special: Better Service CHART: Kmart's Comeback Fizzles TABLE: Fixing Kmart's Problems ``It Doesn't Get Any Bigger Than This'' RESUME: Charles ``Chuck'' C. Conaway INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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