Meet the CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond, She is the First Black Woman to Head a Fortune 500 Company Since Ursula Burns

Meet Bed, Bath & Beyond’s new CEO, Mary Winston. She will be the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company since Ursula Burns stepped down as the CEO of Xerox in 2017.

Winston has a long career as an executive. Previously, she was executive vice president and chief financial officer of family Dollar Stores. In 2015, she was listed on Black Enterprise’s roster of the ‘50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America.’

She’s also held executive positions at Giant Eagle Inc.; Scholastic Corporation; and Pfizer. Her career began as a CPA and auditor at Arthur Anderson & Co.

Just recently brought onto Bed, Bath, & Beyond’s board of directors Winston is taking the helm after the prior CEO Steven Temares, resigned. According to a report from USA Today, the retail brand is experience some tumult. It’s facing a decline in sales due to Amazon’s sales domination and had a round of layoffs earlier this year.

“Bed Bath & Beyond has a significant opportunity to drive value creation by building on its great brands and strong customer affinity,” said Patrick Gaston, Independent Chairman of the Bed Bath & Beyond Board via a press release.

“As the Company continues its efforts to improve its financial performance and enhance its competitive position, the Board determined that now is the right time to identify the next generation of leadership. We are fortunate to have someone of Mary’s caliber to serve as Interim CEO while the Board conducts a search for a permanent successor, and are confident in her ability to lead the Company forward during this transition period,” he added.

“This is an important time for Bed Bath & Beyond and we are committed to being the leading omnichannel retailer of choice for the home and heart-felt life events,” stated Winston also through a press release.

“Together with the Board, including the members of the Business Transformation and Strategy Review Committee, the leadership team and our more than 60,000 associates, I look forward to building an even stronger future for Bed Bath & Beyond. As we continue to review our business initiatives, we will be focused on driving continued margin improvement, enhancing the in-store and online experience, and accelerating our transformation to the benefit of our shareholders, customers and other stakeholders,” she said.