Barnes & Noble has abruptly fired another CEO.
In a brief statement released late Tuesday afternoon, the retailer said CEO Demos Parneros was terminated for “violations of the Company’s policies.” While not saying what policies Parneros violated, B&N said his termination “is not due to any disagreement with the Company regarding its financial reporting, policies, or practices or any potential fraud relating thereto.” In addition to being fired immediately, Parneros will not receive any severance, B&N said. B&N said Parneros’s removal was undertaken by its board of directors, who were advised by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Parneros was named CEO in April 2017 after serving briefly as COO of the company. He replaced company founder Len Riggio, who had been serving as CEO after Ron Boire was fired in August 2016, after less than one year on the job, for what B&N described as “not a good fit for the organization.”
While the search for a new CEO takes place, B&N has appointed a leadership team of Allen Lindstrom, chief financial officer; Tim Mantel, chief merchandising officer; and Carl Hauch, v-p, stores, to lead the company. Riggio remains B&N executive chairman and will be involved in its management, B&N said.
During his brief tenure, Parneros was unable to turn around B&N’s downward sales trend, though it did initiate a number of plans that cut costs. Parneros also brought in a number of new executives, and the company is preparing to open five new prototype stores this fall that it hopes will be a better fit for the current retail environment.
