On Sunday , the news of death of Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Gustavo Arna has created another crisis for the company. According to the sources,
the death of Arnal comes days after the retail chain announced it would close about 150 of its more than 700 namesake stores and lay off about 20% of its 32,000 employees after its stock fell more than 21% last Wednesday, and 65% in the past year.
Arnal’s death, coming in the midst of the company’s challenges and issues, is another crisis for the organization. In their announcement today, Bed Bath & Beyond made no mention about plans to name his successor or if someone would fill his role on an interim basis.
The sudden death of top corporate officials, which can create a crisis for companies and organizations, underscores the need for succession plans, policies and procedures and the importance of accounting for such events in crisis management plans.
