Bed Bath & Beyond appoints interim CFO
Former Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Arnal died by suicide on Friday
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Bed Bath & Beyond on Tuesday named its chief accounting officer, Laura Crossen, as interim chief financial officer, succeeding Gustavo Arnal, who died on Friday.
Police said Arnal, 52, fell from the iconic Jenga Tower skyscraper in downtown Manhattan. A spokesperson for the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to FOX Business that Arnal died by suicide and suffered multiple blunt trauma injuries.
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Arnal's death came a few days after the company said it would be laying off 20% of its workforce across corporate and supply chains and closing 150 "lower-producing" stores as part of a new strategy to turn its struggling business around. Bed Bath & Beyond also secured more than $500 million in new financing and said it could potentially launch an at-the-market offering for up to 12 million shares of its common stock.
Arnal, GameStop chairman Ryan Cohen and JPMorgan Chase have been accused in a class-action shareholder lawsuit of a "pump and dump" scheme to artificially inflate Bed Bath & Beyond's stock. Arnal sold 55,013 shares through multiple transactions on Aug. 16 and 17. The shares were sold under a 10b5-1 trading plan at prices ranging from $20 per share to $29.95 per share. After the sale, Arnal still owned 255,396 shares.
BED BATH & BEYOND STOCK IN FOCUS AFTER CFO DEATH RULED A SUICIDE, SHAREHOLDER LAWSUIT
Crossen has been with Bed Bath & Beyond since 2001, serving in various roles of increasing responsibility within the company's financial and accounting functions.
According to a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Crossen will receive a $200,000 increase to her base salary and an increase in her target annual bonus opportunity to 70% of her base salary. In addition to taking on the CFO role, Crossen will continue as the company's principal accounting officer.
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The announcement comes as a search is underway for a new chief executive after Mark Tritton was fired in June. Independent board director Sue Gove has replaced Tritton on an interim basis.
Bed Beth & Beyond's Chief Operating Officer John Hartmann and Chief Stores Officer Gregg Melnick have also departed the company after it announced during a strategic update on Aug. 31 that their roles would be eliminated.
In the fiscal first quarter of 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond saw its total net sales fall 25% and comparable sales drop 23% compared with the same period last year amid soaring inflation, a rapid shift in consumer spending patterns and declining demand in its Home sector.
Bed Bath & Beyond shares are down 51% year to date.