Major Retailer CFO Jumps to His Death

Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Gustavo Arnal fell to his death in Manhattan – CNBC

The financial director of the struggling Bed Bath & Beyond has been identified as the person who leaped to his death from an iconic new skyscraper in Tribeca known as “The Jenga Building”. Gustavo Arnal, 52, also the chief executive officer for the struggling home-goods retailer, jumped off the 18th floor of 56 Leonard St. on Friday, according to police sources. The 60-story building is known best for the intentionally offset apartments that are stacked on top of one another, similar to a popular game of Jenga.

Messages left for the Arnal Family at Bed Bath & Bed on Saturday were not immediately returned. On Aug. 16, Arnal sold 42,513 shares of the company’s stock, worth just over $1 million, according to MarketBeat.com. Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2020. He had previously worked as CFO at cosmetics giant Avon, which is headquartered in London, and had spent 20 years leading overseas operations at Procter & Gamble.

In 2021, he made over $2.9 million through Bed Bath & Beyond, including $775,000 in salary and the remainder from stock awards, according to InsiderTrades.com. Bed Bath & Beyond has been facing some turmoil of late. Shares in the Union, N.J.-based company lost almost one-quarter of their value on Wednesday after it announced a reorganization that includes closing stores, cutting jobs, and possibly issuing shares.

The company said it has secured more than $500 million in new funding and is cutting 20% of its workforce. It plans to close approximately 150 named stores, but it will retain its BuyBuy Baby chain. In mid-August, shareholder activist Ryan Cohen, a billionaire co-founder of the online pet-products retailer Chewy Inc., sold a share in Bed Bath & Beyond, having taken a 10% stake only months earlier, and promised big changes.

The “Jenga building” features 19-foot-high ceilings, double-height windows, white oak and stone floors, a gas fireplace, a chef’s kitchen, and three terraces, all totaling 1,252 square feet, with views of the water and the city skyline. It is also the celebrity-filled home of a super-wealthy couple, including singer Frank Ocean.

For more coverage on this story, check the following additional news sources:

  1. Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Gustavo Arnal fell to his death in Manhattan  CNBC
  2. Bed Bath and Beyond CFO Gustavo Arnal ID’d as man who jumped from NYC building, report says  Fox Business
  3. Bed Bath & Beyond exec, 52, identified as man who jumped to his death from 18th floor of NYC tower  Daily Mail
  4. Bed Bath & Beyond exec ID’d as Tribeca ‘Jenga Building’ jumper: source  New York Post
  5. Bed Bath & Beyond CFO plunges to death at New York’s Jenga tower – reports  msnNOW