Bed Bath & Beyond executive Gustavo Arnal, has been identified as the man who committed suicide on Friday by leaping from the 18th story of the renowned “Jenga” skyscraper in lower Manhattan’s Tribeca area. Let’s see what happened and why the CFO committed suicide.
What happened at 56 Leonard street ‘Jenga Building’?
According to an NYPD spokesman, calls about the jump at 56 Leonard Street near Church Street started coming in at approximately 12:30 on Friday. According to the New York Post, Arnal was recognized as the jumper from the apartments there may cost up to $50 million on Friday afternoon.
52-year-old Gustavo Arnal served as the chief financial officer of Bed Bath & Beyond, a business that has recently struggled due to rising inflation and a weak economy. Two days before Arnal’s passing, the firm revealed intentions to close 150 of its roughly 900 outlets and lay off 20% of its workforce.
Why did Gustavo Arnal commit suicide?
Gustavo Arnal is accused of his role in the pump and dump scheme.
A group of shareholders filed a class action complaint against Gustavo Arnal, 52, and other defendants, alleging that Arnal and majority shareholder Ryan Cohen participated in a “pump and dump” scheme that caused them to lose almost $1.2 billion.
According to the lawsuit, which was submitted on August 23 to the District of Columbia’s federal district court, Cohen spoke with Arnal about a scheme to get control of shares of Bed Bath & Beyond so they could both profit.
Arnal “agreed to restrict any insider sales by BBBY’s officers and directors as part of the plan,” according to the lawsuit, “to guarantee that the market would not be overwhelmed with a significant number of BBBY shares at a particular moment.”
Then, in an effort to drive up share prices, he reportedly made “materially deceptive representations made to investors regarding BBBY’s strategic corporate plans, the financial situation… and reports of shares holding and selling.”
According to MarketBeat.com, he reportedly sold more than 42,000 shares of the frequently referred-to “meme stock” business for $1 million just over two weeks ago.
He still had 267,896 shares of the corporation at that time, which were worth slightly under $6.5 million. He committed suicide as he was struggling due to rising inflation and a weak economy.
In 2020, when Bed Bath & Beyond was already experiencing difficulties as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Arnal transferred from the Proctor & Gamble division of the London-based cosmetics giant Avon, where he served as CFO for 20 years, to Bed Bath & Beyond.
A company spokeswoman stated that when Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond in April 2020, they were “bringing in world-class talent to give new ideas, skills, and experience as we rebuild our business.”
“Gustavo epitomizes this and his expertise driving business change at other great firms,” says the statement. “His enthusiasm and determination will assist expedite our transformation objectives.” He also has a “strong understanding of the retail and consumer products industry.”
The guy who committed suicide by jumping from the eponymous new Tribeca skyscraper known as the “Jenga Building” has been identified as the chief financial officer of ailing Bed Bath & Beyond, The Post has confirmed.
Who was Gustavo Arnal?
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Bed Bath & Beyond.
Mr. Arnal comes from Avon, a well-known direct-selling cosmetics brand, where he was a key player in a successful business turnaround. Prior to joining Avon, Mr. Arnal served as CFO for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s international divisions and global functions. He has held key positions at Procter & Gamble, including CFO of India, the Middle East, and Africa, CFO of Global Fabric and Home Care, and CFO of Global Personal Beauty. He is a global leader with expertise in managing teams throughout the US, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.
Mr. Arnal has a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate degree from the Universidad Simon Bolivar and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Universidad Metropolitana.
What did the police say?
Police responded to a 911 call on Friday at 12:30 PM ET (1630 GMT) and discovered a 52-year-old man deceased nearby with what looked to be fall-related injuries. Gustavo Arnal was the man, according to police. The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office will now establish the cause of Arnal’s death, according to the police statement, which provided no other information on the events leading up to his passing.
Update: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Mourns the Loss of Gustavo Arnal
The company mourns the loss of its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Their website reads,
Gustavo Arnal, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, passed away on September 2, 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) stated today. This unexpected loss has shocked the whole Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. company, which is very upset.
“I want to send Gustavo’s family our deepest condolences. Gustavo will be remembered for his leadership, talent, and management of our Company by everyone with whom he worked. He will be dearly missed by everyone at Bed Bath & Beyond and by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him, and I am happy to have worked with him “stated Harriet Edelman, Independent Chair of the Board of Directors of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. “Our focus is on helping his family and his team at this sad and trying time, and our thoughts are with them. Please help us uphold the family’s privacy by doing the same.”
Following a long international career in finance at Avon, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Procter & Gamble, Mr. Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. in May 2020. Mr. Arnal played a key role in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s management of the company throughout the coronavirus pandemic, transformation of the organization’s financial base, and development of a potent and skilled staff. He was also a highly respected associate in the financial community.
Bed Bath & Beyond shares dropped sharply
Bed Bath & Beyond, previously seen as a “category killer” for home and bath products, has seen its fortunes wane. CEO Mark Tritton was fired in June after first-quarter sales fell by 25%.
He was temporarily replaced by Sue Gove, an independent board director, who was recruited by the corporation.
According to Gove, the retailer “continues to see substantial good momentum” and wants to expand on its “strong tradition as a retailer,” as he stated on Wednesday.
On a conference call, she stated, “While there is still much work to be done, our road map is clear and we’re sure that the big adjustments we’ve made today will have a good influence on our performance.
In addition, the store stated it had received $500 million in additional funding and that it planned to raise money by issuing new shares. However, investors were unimpressed with the shop’s strategic strategy, and shares plunged as much as 25% in early trade.
Investors who had been cheering the stock on the Reddit community WallStreetBets reacted with a combination of stoicism and grief.
“I only wanted to earn money with little work.” Why do I have to endure this pain? why?’ One forum member posted something.
Bed Bath & Beyond provided an update on Wednesday in which it also predicted a bigger-than-expected 26 percent decline in same-store sales for the second quarter and announced it would keep the buybuy Baby division, which it had previously put up for sale.
GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen, the largest shareholder in the firm until this month when he sold out of his 9.8% position, which sent shares falling, had supported efforts to sell buybuy Baby.
Bed Bath & Beyond used to be known for offering many customers 20% off coupons, but in recent years it has changed its focus to private-label goods, including kitchenware under the Our Table brand.
According to officials on a conference call, the chain is now abandoning that plan, getting rid of three of its own label brands, and placing a higher priority on national brands like Calphalon, Ugg, Dyson, and Cuisinart.
According to executives, Bed Bath & Beyond will eliminate its chief operating officer and chief stores officer positions and reduce around 20% of its corporate and supply chain personnel. In all, the corporation employs around 32,000 people.
CEO Evan Spiegel plans to cut off 20% of employees
In the meanwhile, Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, informed colleagues in a message on Wednesday that ad revenues were falling short of initial expectations and disclosed plans to restructure and lay off around 20 percent of the company’s 5,600 employees.
Unfortunately, Spiegel stated, “Given our present reduced pace of revenue growth, it has become evident that we must decrease our cost structure to prevent sustaining large recurring losses.”
According to the firm, Snap will abandon ambitious initiatives like mobile games and novelties like a flying drone camera in order to save an estimated $500 million a year in expenditures.
Shares of Snap increased up to 15% in morning trading as a result of investor support for the decision.
Spiegel said Snap was revamping its company to focus on community development, revenue growth, and augmented reality.
Spiegel warned that anything that doesn’t help these three areas “would be discontinued or receive considerably reduced funding.
Arnal’s stock sale occurred on the same day that a 20-year-old college student made $110 million by selling every share of Bed Bath and Beyond stock he owned. However, the student sold his shares just before the retailer’s stock price dropped 23% as a result of the second-largest shareholder’s announcement that he intended to sell all of his shares.
Jake Freeman, a student at the University of Southern California majoring in applied mathematics and economics, purchased over five million shares in Bed Bath & Beyond in July for a total of $25 million with the aid of his well-off pharmaceutical investor uncle.
As a result, he acquired a minority stake in one of America’s major houseware specialty stores, owning around 6% of it. This struggling retailer’s worth increased as a result of the ongoing “meme stock” bubble.
Because of this, stock in firms that are thought to be beyond their prime is bought up by novice investors, helping to raise the share price and earning some fortunate stockholders who sell at the appropriate moment millions of dollars.
After the retailer’s stock price soared to $27 per share on August 16, Freeman, whose family is from the New York City region, roughly sold more than $130 million worth of stock. Arnal did the same thing the next day.
After learning about investor Ryan Cohen’s intentions to sell, the share price has now fallen by a further 23% to $18.55.
The structure, which is situated at 56 Leonard Street in the posh Tribeca neighborhood, has an impossible-looking tangle of crooked levels that give it the appearance of a tottering Jenga tower.
The building’s penthouse unit sold for $50 million.
EMS personnel arrived at the scene
When the city’s EMS personnel arrived on the scene, they could be seen removing Gustavo Arnal body in a black body bag.
Gustavo Arnal was declared dead before he left the site.
According to an FDNY official, a second unnamed victim was hospitalized with minor wounds.
Before getting inside the ambulance, a woman was spotted sobbing and acting upset next to the building.
The FDNY representative was unable to confirm the patient’s age or gender.
The building’s website boasts a variety of amenities, including a library lounge, an indoor/outdoor theatre, a 75-foot pool, a sundeck with a hot tub, a fitness center, a yoga studio, a steam room, a sauna, and a private dining room.
According to the New York Post, the mega-rich and famous people like Frank Ocean call the posh house home.
56 Leonard is the first skyscraper created by renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, and it was built by the Alexico Group.
Each stage of the construction process, which took an unbelievable 33 months, was documented by webcam business EarthCam and then put together in this amazing film.
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Horribly written article. Illiterate.