Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) today announced four new strategic appointments to the Company’s leadership team, each of whom will report directly to President & CEO Mark Tritton.
This includes the appointment of Gustavo Arnal as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Treasurer, effective May 4, 2020. Arnal joins the Company following his previous role as Group CFO of Avon, prior to which he held senior positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance and Procter & Gamble. Bed Bath & Beyond’s current CFO & Treasurer Robyn D’Elia is departing the Company.
In addition to Arnal, the following appointments represent a diverse group of experienced senior executives with strong track records of success in the retail and consumer products sectors:
- Rafeh Masood joins the Company as Executive Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, effective May 11, 2020. Masood was most recently Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer at BJ’s Wholesale Club, following earlier strategic positions at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Sears Holdings.
- Gregg Melnick will assume the role of Executive Vice President, Chief Stores Officer, effective May 11, 2020, from his current role as the Company’s interim Chief Digital Officer. Melnick joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2018 as Chief Operations Officer, Digital. Previously, Melnick was President, Party City Holdings.
- Arlene Hong joins the Company as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective May 18, 2020. Hong was formerly Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President & Corporate Secretary, FULLBEAUTY Brands, prior to which she held a number of senior legal positions at J.Crew and Amazon.
Commenting on these strategic appointments, President & CEO Mark Tritton said, “We remain committed to rebuilding our business and strengthening our ability to serve our loyal customers, while we respond to the challenges presented by COVID-19. In addition to the appointments of Joe Hartsig as Chief Merchandising Officer, and John Hartmann as Chief Operating Officer, we are continuing to bring in experienced, passionate leaders of change into our business, with strong expertise in business transformation and omnichannel retail. This is a world-class team that will accelerate and drive our transformation.
“As our CFO, Gustavo’s industry knowledge and experience leading financial change in some of the world’s largest and best-known retail and consumer products businesses will help drive the next phase of our growth strategy and establish a more efficient foundation to create shareholder value.”
Arnal will have oversight of finance and will help fortify a strong and sustainable business model. He will have broad responsibilities including M&A, Controls, Tax, Accounting, Treasury, Audit and Investor Relations.
Incoming CFO & Treasurer Gustavo Arnal said, “Bed Bath & Beyond has a long-standing commitment to helping customers build their sense of Home. To do so, we must also build on the strong foundations of this business with a new, robust and sustainable business model. I look forward to working with this great leadership team as the Company executes on its strategic growth plans and playing my part as a catalyst for cultural and financial change in the business.”
Tritton concluded, “I would like to applaud the dedication of the interim leadership team in overseeing the Company’s efforts to support our customers, employees and communities, especially during these challenging times, and to Robyn D’Elia for her decades-long commitment to Bed Bath & Beyond and recent service as our CFO & Treasurer.”
Additional information about the CFO transition is included in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.
About the New Team
- Mr. Arnal joins the Company from Avon, a leading direct-selling beauty company where he helped lead a successful business turnaround effort. Prior to Avon, Mr. Arnal was CFO, International Divisions and Global Functions at Walgreens Boots Alliance. He is a global leader, with experience leading teams across the US, EMEA, APAC and LATAM, and has previously served in senior positions at Procter & Gamble, including CFO of India, Middle East and Africa, CFO Global Fabric and Home Care, and CFO Global Personal Beauty.
- Mr. Masood was previously Chief Digital Officer of BJ’s Wholesale Club, where he was responsible for driving end-to-end digital strategy and vision for the company’s e-commerce and omni-channel efforts. Prior to BJ’s, Mr. Masood was Vice President, Customer Innovation Technology at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Vice President, Integrated Retail Solutions and Technology at Sears Holdings. RIS magazine named Masood as one of the “Top 10 Movers and Shakers” in retail in 2017 and a “Pacesetter” in retail technology in 2012.
- Mr. Melnick joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2018 as Chief Operations Officer, Digital, where he has overseen the significant growth of the Company’s digital business. He has been serving as the Company’s interim Chief Digital Officer since December 2019. Prior to that, Gregg served as President of Party City Holdings, the world’s largest vertically integrated designer, manufacturer, distributor and retailer of party goods with $2.4 billion in annual revenue. Previously, Gregg served as the President of Party City Retail Group, managing retail operations for over 900 retail locations in the United States and Canada plus e-commerce operations in North America and the United Kingdom. He has also held senior positions at Dow Jones Inc.
- Ms. Hong joins the Company from FULLBEAUTY Brands, where she was Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, managing legal affairs for the $1 billion multi-channel retailer. Prior to FULLBEAUTY, she led Amazon’s legal team responsible for the North America Softlines business and held the position of General Counsel at Amazon subsidiary, Quidsi. She also previously held the General Counsel role for e-commerce retailer Ideeli, Inc., and served as General Counsel of multi-channel retailer J. Crew for approximately 10 years.
