Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Steps Down Immediately Amid Store Closures

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) CEO Steven Temares has immediately stepped down, the company announced on Monday. The retailer has appointed Mary Winston as interim chief executive officer while the board searches for a replacement. Temares also resigned from the Bed Bath & Beyond board.

Winston previous served as executive vice president and CFO at Family Dollar Stores Inc., senior vice president and CFO at Giant Eagle, Inc., executive vice president and CFO at Scholastic Corporation, vice president and controller of Visteon Corporation, and vice president, global financial operations at Pfizer Inc. in the Pharmaceuticals Group. She is also on the board for Acuity Brands, Inc., Domtar Corporation, and Dover Corporation.

According to Bed Bath & Beyond, the company’s board has formed a search committee for Temares replacement and will employ the assistance of an executive search firm. Temares was CEO of the company since 2003.

Beyond Winston’s appointment, Andrea Weiss has been named chair of Business Transformation and Strategy. She is a retail executive from the company that was also serving on the Bed Bath & Beyond board. Weiss will assist Winston to “identify opportunities for rapid performance improvement of both short- and long-term results.:

The news of Temares stepping down comes as Bed Bath & Beyond added five new independent directors to its board as well as two additional independent directors in 2018, and another in 2017. The company also announced in April that it would be closing 40 stores. It also laid off over 100 employees in March.

"Bed Bath & Beyond has a significant opportunity to drive value creation by building on its great brands and strong customer affinity,” Patrick Gaston, independent chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond said. “As the Company continues its efforts to improve its financial performance and enhance its competitive position, the Board determined that now is the right time to identify the next generation of leadership.”

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond stock were down 4.57 percent as of 10:35 a.m. ET on Monday.