Gustavo Arnal, 52, chief monetary officer of embattled homewares retailer Mattress Bathtub & Past, died on Friday. He was introduced in to assist stabilize the enterprise in 2020 because it wanted to extend its choices to satisfy shopper demand in a retail business disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Arnal died in what seemed to be a suicide, in line with the New York Police Division. He was discovered close to his residence, 56 Leonard Road, a skyscraper often called the Jenga constructing due to its stacked architectural design, and “seemed to be affected by accidents indicative of a fall from a excessive place”, mentioned the police in a press release. Emergency medical doctors pronounced him useless on the scene and the New York Metropolis Medical Examiner’s Workplace is working to find out precisely how he died, the assertion mentioned. The New York Put up earlier reported Mr. Arnal’s demise.
Mr Arnal joined Mattress Bathtub & Past as Chief Monetary Officer in Could 2020 as a part of a administration shake-up led by then-Chief Government Mark Tritton, who left in June. Mr. Arnal was beforehand Chief Monetary Officer at Avon and held senior positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance and Procter & Gamble, the place he spent greater than 20 years of his profession.
Mr. Arnal spoke to Mattress Bathtub & Past traders on Wednesday, giving them updates on the corporate’s funds and telling them some powerful information concerning the influence of its newest turnaround efforts. The retailer mentioned it had begun the method of closing 150 shops and would lay off 20% of its staff at its head workplace and throughout its provide chain operations. Retailer closures may even influence the roles of salespeople, the corporate mentioned.
Though he had solely been at Mattress Bathtub & Past for 2 years, Mr Arnal offered some semblance of continuity inside the retailer’s ranks as many senior executives had departed, together with the managing director, director of operations and retailer supervisor.
The retailer has come below immense strain lately because it struggled to quickly increase its provide chain and operations, whereas coping with enterprise pressures from the pandemic and two teams of activist traders. He introduced final week that he had secured a mortgage from funding agency Sixth Road to shore up his money.
The corporate has additionally been on the heart of a risky few weeks of buying and selling, partially as a consequence of a legion of devoted particular person traders. The retailer’s shares soared on August 16, inspired by revelations from activist investor Ryan Cohen; they dropped quickly after when he revealed he had offered the enterprise utterly.
Mr Arnal offered round 55,000 shares of Mattress Bathtub & Past on August 16 and 17, as a part of a buying and selling plan he signed in April. In August, Mattress Bathtub & Past disclosed in a regulatory submitting that Mr Arnal and the retailer have been being sued by sure shareholders. The retailer mentioned it was within the “early levels of assessing the grievance” however, primarily based on its present understanding, “believes the allegations are with out benefit”.
Mattress Bathtub & Past issued a press release on the demise of Mr Arnal on Sunday, saying it was “deeply saddened by this stunning loss”.
“Our objective is to help his household and workforce and our ideas are with them throughout this unhappy and tough time,” the corporate mentioned.
If you’re having suicidal ideas, name the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/sources for a listing of extra sources.
Kashmir Hill and Ashley Southall contributed report.
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