The Board of Directors of of Barnes & Noble Inc. has determined that Chief Executive Officer Ronald D. Boire was not a good fit for the organization, and that it was in the best interests of all parties for him to leave the company.
barnes & Noble also said that its executive chairman, Leonard Riggio, who was scheduled to retire at the close of the company’s annual meeting on September 14, will postpone his retirement until a later date. Riggio, along with other members of the executive management team, will assume Boire’s duties.
Boire had served as CEO of Barnes & Noble for less than a year. He began on Sept. 8, and was announced as the successor to Michael P. Huseby in July 2015. Huseby became Executive Chairman of Barnes & Noble Education, which was spun off from Barnes & Noble Inc.
In June, Barnes & Noble announced its fiscal 2016 sales were flat compared to the prior fiscal year.
Boire came to Barnes & Noble from Sears Canada, Inc., where he served as President & CEO. Boire had a broad range of experience in retail and technology. He held the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer and President, Sears and Kmart Formats at Sears Holdings. Mr. Boire also served in other executive positions including President and CEO at Brookstone, Inc., where he led a turnaround of Brookstone’s performance through improved operations, product development and marketing. While at Toys “R” Us he served as President, North America from 2006 through 2009.