Barnes & Noble Inc. has fired Chief Executive Demos Parneros, citing company policy violations.
The bookseller said Tuesday that Parneros won’t receive any severance pay and that he is no longer a board member. Barnes & Noble BKS, -4.00% didn’t disclose what rules Parneros may have violated, but said the decision wasn’t tied to any disagreement over financial reporting or any potential fraud.
A group of current executives, including Chief Financial Officer Allen Lindstrom, will share CEO duties on a temporary basis until a replacement to Parneros is hired, the company said. Executive Chairman Leonard Riggio, who helped build Barnes & Noble into the country’s largest publicly traded bookstore chain, will also be involved in management decisions, the company said. Riggio is the largest private shareholder.
Barnes & Noble shares, down 20% over the past year, were unchanged in after-hours trading.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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