Gustavo Arnal, No. 2 at Bed Bath & Beyond, Dies

The CFO of Bed Bath and Beyond died on Friday. He was brought on to help stabilizing the company in 2020 as it needed to ramp up its offerings to meet shopper demand.

The New York Police Department said that Mr. Arnal died as a result of a suicide. He was found near his residence, 56 Leonard Street, a skyscraper known as the Jenga building because of its stacked architectural design, and appeared to suffer from injuries indicative of a fall from an elevated position. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office is trying to figure out how he died, and emergency medical officers pronounced him dead on the scene. The New York Post was the first to report on his death.

The CFO of Bed Bath & Beyond joined the company in 2020. Mark Tritton was the retailer's former chief executive officer and left in June. He spent more than 20 years of his career at both Walgreens and P&G.

Mr. Arnal spoke to Bed Bath & Beyond investors on Wednesday and gave them an update about the company's finances and the impact of its latest restructuring efforts. The retailer said it had begun the process of closing 150 stores and would lay off 20 percent of its workers. Retail associate jobs will be impacted by the store closings.

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Even though he had only been at Bed Bath & Beyond for two years, Mr. Arnal was still able to provide continuity in the retailer's ranks. After John Barresi resigned as the chief accounting officer, Mr. Arnal became the new principal accounting officer. Laura Crossen was appointed chief accounting officer in June.

Over the past several years, the retailer has been under immense pressure, as it has worked to quickly build up its supply chain and operations, while also dealing with the business pressures of the pandemic and two sets of activist investors Last week, it announced that it had secured a loan from Sixth Street. Over the past year, the company's shares have plummeted.

More than 50,000 shares of Bed Bath & Beyond were sold by Mr. Arnal in August. The company's shares rocketed in response to a regulatory disclosure.

Kashmir Hill and Ashly Southall worked on the report.