Michael Berry, president of Barnes & Noble Booksellers for the past 15 months, has resigned from the company. Berry, who was previously a senior executive with Disney, was originally named to succeed former B&N president Tom Tolworthy, who left the bookseller in early 2001.
Mary Ellen Keating, a spokesperson for B&N, told PW that Berry resigned last week. "Berry is interested in running a company," she said. "That kind of responsibility was not available here so he decided to move on." She said the company had no current plans to replace Berry. In the interim, she said, B&N chief operating officer Mitchell Klipper will oversee B&N store operations.
Contacted by PW, Berry said he planned to return to the West Coast. He told PW that he was "looking to manage a company at the chief operating officer level." He had an offer he was considering, he said, but declined to name the company, which he said was in the hospitality industry.
