Publishers Lunch
After presiding over losses of hundreds of
millions of dollars with a device-focused strategy that ended in tatters the
past holiday season, Barnes & Noble ceo William Lynch has resigned
effective immediately. Announced after the close of market on Monday, the
official remarks made it sound as if Lynch was asked to leave; he says "I
appreciate the opportunity to serve as CEO of this terrific company over the
last three years." Just four months ago in early March the company
had amended and extended Lynch's employment
agreement to award him a cash bonus of $1.8 million for the Microsoft and
Pearson agreements with Nook Media. Lynch was also provided a stock grant of
another 300,000 shares which vest immediately if he has been terminated without
cause or has left for "good reason."
Stranger is that the answer provided by the
already rudderless company is an internal adjustment of responsibilities that
leaves BN with no chief executive officer at all and, according to spokesperson
Mary Ellen Keating, "no immediate plans to name a CEO." That is
perhaps because, as she says, "the company is in a transition
period." Chairman Len Riggio's interest in buying the consumer bookstores
remains unresolved, as do the large strategic questions of what is left of the
Nook Media business, who wants to own, and what are the pieces worth. In other
words, it may be hard to put in place a new ceo for a company that could be
split apart or taken private. When papers were created to set up a split of
Nook Media and the Barnes & Noble stores, it was clear that Lynch was
intended to serve as ceo of Nook if it became independent.
For now, Michael Huseby, brought in as chief
financial officer in March 2012, has been named ceo of Nook Media LLC and
president of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Controller Allen Lindstrom is
promoted to cfo, reporting to Huseby, and Kanuj Malhotra moves up to cfo of Nook
Media. Both Huseby and Barnes & Noble stores ceo Mitchell Klipper will
report directly to chairman Len Riggio.
Riggio says in the announcement what's hard
to believe: "As the bookselling industry continues to undergo significant
transformation, we believe that Michael, Mitchell and Max are the right
executives to lead us into the future." Riggio "added that the
company is in the process of reviewing its current strategic plan and will
provide an update when appropriate." In the statement, Riggio also thanks
Lynch "for helping transform Barnes & Noble into a leading
digital content provider and for leading in the development of our
award-winning line of Nook products."
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