Sears New CEO: Not the Man for the Job, Poll Says

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Sears'(SHLD) new CEO will be unable to revive the flailing department store, according to TheStreet readers.

The company, with billionaire investor Eddie Lampert at the helm, announced last week that after a three-year search it has named Lou D'Ambrosio as chief executive. He succeeds Bruce Johnson, who served as interim CEO since 2008.

D'Ambrosio, who was formerly head of Avaya, a telecommunications company, has an impressive resume. While his prior gigs include a 16-year stint at IBM(IBM), his resume is void of any retail experience, raising questions about his ability to improve the struggling Sears.

This lack of merchandising experience led 58.1% of voters to say D'Ambrosio is not qualified for the job.

D'Ambrosio has spent the last six months as a consultant to the board of directors on strategic and operational initiatives. According to a Securities and Exchange filing, D' Ambrosio received $7.2 million in salary and other compensation and is eligible for a bonus of $2 million for his service.

In his role as chief executive, D'Ambrosio will receive a base salary of $1 million and a signing bonus of $150,000. He also received $6 million in restricted stock under the company's 2006 stock plan -- which will be paid in installments of $2 million over three years -- and could receive more unrestricted stock.

D'Ambrosio will have access to a chartered aircraft to use for his commute from Philadelphia to Illinois.

He is also qualified to receive a performance-based bonus worth up to $2 million.

But whether or not he receives said bonus remains to be seen.

Sears reported a 13% decline in fourth-quarter profit last week, as comparable sales at namesake stores tumbled.

Since Lampert combined Sears and Kmart in 2005, the merged company has reported declining revenues every year.