Bed Bath & Beyond’s (Union, N.J.) CFO, Gustavo Arnal, 52, was identified by the New York City Police Department as the man who jumped to his death from the 18th floor of a high-rise in New York City’s Tribeca area on Friday.
The police told CNN that Arnal’s wife witnessed him jump from their balcony. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide.
In a statement from Bed Bath & Beyond, Harriet Edelman, the Independent Chair of the Board of Directors, said:
“I wish to extend our sincerest condolences to Gustavo’s family. Gustavo will be remembered by all he worked with for his leadership, talent and stewardship of our company. I am proud to have been his colleague, and he will be truly missed by all of us at Bed Bath & Beyond and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. Our focus is on supporting his family and his team and our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time.”
On Tuesday, the retailer named Laura Crossen its interim CFO. She has served as the company’s Vice President of Financial Management since 2001.
It’s being reported that Arnal was named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia accusing him of insider trading and fraud about two weeks ago.
The lawsuit alleges Arnal and GameStop Chair Ryan Cohen worked in concert to artificially inflate the price of Bed Bath & Beyond’s traded stock. Cohen had been a majority stake holder in Bed Bath & Beyond until selling all 7 million of his shares and call options of the company in August.
Arnal’s death also comes just days after Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to cut its corporate and supply chain workforce by at least 20 percent. Bed Bath & Beyond has already begun closing 150 of its “lower producing” locations, with same-store sales declining 26 percent over a three-month period ending Aug. 27.