Max J. Roberts to Retire and Resign as CEO
Effective September 19, 2017;Michael P. Huseby Appointed as
Chairman and CEO
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED)
(the “Company” or “BNED”), one of the largest contract operators of
physical and virtual bookstores for higher education and K-12
institutions across the United States, one of the largest textbook
wholesalers, and a leading provider of digital education services,
today announced that Max J. Roberts has informed the Board of
Directors of his decision to retire and has submitted his
resignation as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 19,
2017. Mr. Roberts will not stand for re-election to the Board of
Directors at the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders.
The Board of Directors has appointed Michael P. Huseby as Chief
Executive Officer, effective September 19, 2017. Mr. Huseby will
also serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors, after having
served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2015.
Mr. Huseby has more than 20 years of financial and executive
experience, having served as a senior executive at Barnes &
Noble, Inc. (including serving as CEO), Cablevision Systems
Corporation, Charter Communications and AT&T Broadband.
As CEO of BNED since its spin-off from Barnes & Noble, Inc.
in 2015, Mr. Roberts was instrumental in successfully executing a
number of strategic growth initiatives, including the acquisition
of LoudCloud and the recent acquisition of MBS Textbook Exchange.
Over his 21-year career with Barnes & Noble College, as
President for 18 years and CEO for the past three years, Mr.
Roberts’ accomplishments centered on collaborating with campus
partners to transform bookstores into strategic assets for
educational institutions. Under his leadership during this period,
Barnes & Noble College enjoyed steady growth in its core
business. In the coming months, Mr. Roberts will work with Mr.
Huseby to transition his CEO responsibilities.
Mr. Roberts stated, “It has been an absolute privilege to work
with the most dedicated and astute group of professionals to
support our partner universities in guiding students across the
country to success in the classroom and beyond. My time with Barnes
& Noble College and Barnes & Noble Education has been the
most rewarding experience of my professional life, and I could not
be more confident about the future of Barnes & Noble
Education.”
“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Max for his many
contributions, including having led the Company management team the
past two years following BNED’s spin-off from Barnes & Noble,
Inc. Max has been a focused and dedicated leader who is completely
devoted to our mission and people. We wish him the very best in his
well-deserved retirement,” said Mr. Huseby. “Our people look
forward to executing on our mission to improve academic outcomes
with our comprehensive offering of relevant and affordable
products, high-touch services and innovative learning platforms,
which we expect to create substantial long-term value for our
partners, employees and shareholders over time.”
Vice Admiral John R. Ryan, Lead Independent Director, concluded,
“The Company and Board have benefited under Mike’s stewardship as
Executive Chairman, and we are pleased to appoint him as CEO. His
leadership skills and strategic vision will be crucial assets as we
continue to navigate the dynamic educational services market. It is
an exciting time in the Company’s history and we look forward to
working with Mike and the strong management team in place at BNED
to execute upon the Company’s strategy.”
About Michael HusebyMr. Huseby previously served as Chief
Executive Officer at Barnes & Noble, Inc. from January 2014
until August 2015, when BNED completed its legal and structural
separation from Barnes & Noble, Inc. Prior to being appointed
as Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc., Mr. Huseby
was President of Barnes & Noble, Inc. from July 2013, and Chief
Financial Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. from March 2012. From
2004 to 2011, Mr. Huseby served as Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer of Cablevision Systems Corporation, a
leading telecommunications and media company, which was acquired by
the Altice Group in June 2016. He served on the Cablevision Systems
Corporation Board of Directors in 2000 and 2001.
Prior to joining Cablevision, Mr. Huseby served as Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Charter
Communications, Inc., a large cable operator in the United States.
Mr. Huseby served on the Board of Directors of Charter
Communications from May 2013 through May 2016. From 1999 to 2002,
Mr. Huseby served as Executive Vice President, Finance and
Administration, of AT&T Broadband, a provider of cable
television services. In addition, Mr. Huseby spent over 20 years at
Arthur Andersen, LLP and Andersen Worldwide, S.C., where he held
the position of Global Equity Partner. Mr. Huseby serves on the
Board of Directors of CommerceHub, Inc., a cloud-based e-commerce
fulfillment and marketing software platform company listed on
NASDAQ.
About Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.Barnes &
Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED), one of the largest contract
operators of physical and virtual bookstores for higher education
and K-12 institutions across the United States, one of the largest
textbook wholesalers, and a leading provider of digital education
services, enhances the academic and social purpose of educational
institutions. Through its Barnes & Noble College and MBS
subsidiaries, Barnes & Noble Education operates 1,481 physical
and virtual bookstores and serves more than 6 million students,
delivering essential educational content and tools within a dynamic
retail environment. Through LoudCloud, its digital education
platform, Barnes & Noble Education offers a suite of digital
software, content and services that include predictive analytics,
OER courseware, competency-based solutions and a learning
management system. Barnes & Noble Education acts as a strategic
partner to drive student success; provide value and support to
students and faculty; and create loyalty and improve retention, all
while supporting the financial goals of college and university
partners.
General information on Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. can be
obtained by visiting the Company’s corporate website:
www.bned.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains
certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and information
relating to us and our business that are based on the beliefs of
our management as well as assumptions made by and information
currently available to our management. When used in this
communication, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,”
“expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “forecasts,” “projections,” and
similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management,
identify forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very
competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from
time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all
risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business
or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends
discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results
could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or
implied in the forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect
our current views with respect to future events, the outcome of
which is subject to certain risks, including, among others: general
competitive conditions, including actions our competitors may take
to grow their businesses; a decline in college enrollment or
decreased funding available for students; decisions by colleges and
universities to outsource their physical and/or online bookstore
operations or change the operation of their bookstores; the general
economic environment and consumer spending patterns; decreased
consumer demand for our products, low growth or declining sales;
our ability to continue to successfully integrate the operations of
MBS Textbook Exchange, LLC into our Company, while facing
competition from not only physical bookstore operations but also
virtual solutions; the strategic objectives, anticipated synergies,
and/or other expected potential benefits of the MBS Textbook
Exchange, LLC acquisition may not be fully realized or may take
longer than expected; the integration of MBS Textbook Exchange,
LLC’s operations into our own may also increase the risk of our
internal controls being found ineffective; risks associated with
operation or performance of MBS Textbook Exchange, LLC’s
point-of-sales systems that are sold to college bookstore
customers; implementation of our digital strategy may not result in
the expected growth in our digital sales and/or profitability; risk
that digital sales growth does not exceed the rate of investment
spend; the performance of our online, digital and other
initiatives, integration of and deployment of, additional products
and services, and enhancements higher education digital products,
and the inability to achieve the expected cost savings; our ability
to successfully implement our strategic initiatives including our
ability to identify, compete for and execute upon additional
acquisitions and strategic investments; technological changes;
risks associated with counterfeit and piracy of digital and print
materials; our international operations could result in additional
risks; our ability to attract and retain employees; changes to
purchase or rental general terms, payment terms, return policies,
the discount or margin on products or other terms with our
suppliers; risks associated with data privacy, information security
and intellectual property; trends and challenges to our business
and in the locations in which we have stores; non-renewal of
managed bookstore, physical and/or online store contracts and
higher-than-anticipated store closings; disruptions to our
information technology systems, infrastructure and data due to
computer malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, resulting
in harm to our business and results of operations; disruption of or
interference with third party web service providers and our own
proprietary technology; work stoppages or increases in labor costs;
the risk of price reduction or change in format of course materials
by publishers, which could negatively impact revenues and margin;
possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping
service, obsolete or excessive inventory; product shortages,
including risks associated with merchandise sourced indirectly from
outside the United States; changes in law or regulation; enactment
of laws which may restrict or prohibit our use of emails or similar
marketing activities; the amount of our indebtedness and ability to
comply with covenants applicable to any future debt financing; our
ability to satisfy future capital and liquidity requirements; our
ability to access the credit and capital markets at the times and
in the amounts needed and on acceptable terms; adverse results from
litigation, governmental investigations or tax-related proceedings
or audits; changes in accounting standards; and the other risks and
uncertainties detailed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part
I - Item 1A of the Form 10-K for the 52 weeks ended April 29, 2017,
filed on July 12, 2017. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from
those described as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected,
intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements
in this paragraph. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise after the date of this
press release.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170720005633/en/
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.Media:Carolyn J.
Brown, 908-991-2967Vice PresidentCorporate
Communicationscbrown@bned.comorInvestors:Thomas
Donohue, 908-991-2966Vice PresidentTreasurer and Investor
Relationstdonohue@bned.com
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