Barnes & Noble Fires CEO Demos Parneros Over Policy Violations

(Updated on Feb. 19, 2023: Former Barnes & Noble CEO Demos Parneros and the company settled their lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in October 2020.

In a joint statement issued the same month, the parties said: "Former CEO Demos Parneros and Barnes & Noble have amicably settled all claims regarding his termination in 2018. This matter has been resolved with no judicial determination of wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement are confidential.")

Bookselling company Barnes & Noble has fired Chief Executive Officer Demos Parneros over company policy violations.

Barnes & Noble announced Parneros' termination Tuesday, saying the CEO violated the company's policies. The bookseller did not elaborate on the reason for Parneros' firing, but it clarified that it wasn't due to any disagreement over financial reporting or fraud, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The company also revealed that Parneros is no longer the director of the board and he's no longer a board member as well. In addition, he won't be receiving any severance pay following his termination. Barnes & Noble disclosed that it arrived with the decision after hearing the advice of its law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

Parneros, 56, joined Barnes & Noble in 2016. He was then declared CEO in April 2017. Prior to joining the retailer of content, digital media and educational products, Parneros was president of Staples' North American stores and online.

Parneros is already the fourth CEO to depart the bookseller in five years. The predecessor of Parneros, Ronald Boire, was dismissed in 2016 after less than a year of acting as CEO. Barnes & Noble said back then that Biore was not a good fit for the company and that all parties felt that it was time for him to leave.

Before Boire, Michael P. Huseby resigned in July 2015. On the other hand, William Lynch stepped down from the top position in July 2013, according to the New York Times.

Barnes & Noble said that it will begin its search for a new CEO soon. For now, it is asking a group of leaders to run the company in the interim. Chief financial officer Allen Lindstrom, chief merchandising officer Tim Mantel and vice president of stores Carl Hauch were identified to be part of the group, CNBC has learned.

Barnes & Noble has 630 stores in the United States and 23,000 employees all in all. The retailer used to be doing so well until Amazon came. The growth of the latter had an impact on the former's market performance. In fact, its sales declined in the last five years. In three of those years, the bookseller reportedly lost money, as per CNNMoney.