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Gustavo Arnal: 52-year old CFO of ailing Bed Bath & Beyond identified as the 'Jenga jumper' who died by suicide

He was the executive vice-president and CFO of Bed Bath & Beyond, that has been recording mounting losses and layoffs, which included him as well
PUBLISHED SEP 4, 2022
Gustavo Arnal jumped from the 18th floor of the 57-storey 'Jenga' building in Tribeca(LinkedIn/Gustavo Arnal, 56 Leonard Tribeca official website)
Gustavo Arnal jumped from the 18th floor of the 57-storey 'Jenga' building in Tribeca(LinkedIn/Gustavo Arnal, 56 Leonard Tribeca official website)

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: The man who jumped from the 18th floor of the 57-storey Tribeca skyscraper on Friday, September 2, has been identified as Gustavo Arnal, the chief financial officer of Bed Bath & Beyond.

Arnal was also an executive vice-president of the struggling retail company. The 52-year-old died by suicide from the building that derives its name from the popular game, 'Jenga' owing to its consciously misaligned apartments stacked atop each other like Jenga blocks. The company is in dire straits as it has been facing mounting losses. 

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A Bed Bath & Beyond store is seen on June 29, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. fired its CEO Mark Tritton as shares of the company are down more than 55% this year and nearly 80% over the last 12 months.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc fired its CEO Mark Tritton in June 2022 (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

According to an NYPD spokesperson, Arnal jumped off the skyscraper around 12.30 pm when calls regarding the emergency were first made. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Daily Mail, there was another person on the scene who was hospitalized with minor injuries. EMS officials responded to the incident and took care of Arnal's body. 

Arnal, who had previously worked at a number of major companies including Avon, Walgreens, and Procter & Gamble, assumed the responsibilities of chief financial officer in 2020. His death comes merely a few days after the retailer announced that it was laying off 20 per cent of its corporate and supply chain workforce and the closure of 150 stores nationwide as a result of the sky-rocketing inflation. The offices of the chief operating officer and chief stores officer are also being eliminated. 

Moreover, MarketBeat had recorded that Arnal sold 42,513 shares in company stock, frequently referred to as "meme stock" in exchange for a little over a $1M on August 16. He was said to have still owned 267,896 shares in the company, valued at just under $6.5M. 

Customers leave a Bed Bath & Beyond store on July 09, 2020 in Larkspur, California. Bed Bath & Beyond announced that it plans to close 200 of its retail stores over the next year after seeing sales drop nearly 50 percent due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
The company is set to close 150 out of its 900 stores (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Bed Bath & Beyond is suffering due to inflation. The CEO Mark Tritton was fired in June following a 25 per cent plunge in sales in the first quarter. He was replaced by, an independent board director, Sue Gove on an interim basis. Earlier, Gove had stated that the company was "continuing to see significant positive momentum" and planned to build its "deep heritage as a retailer." She also added, "While there is much work ahead, our road map is clear and we're confident that the significant changes we've announced today will have a positive impact on our performance." 

The apartment in the 'Jenga building' cost up to $50M. According to the New York Post, the building is the home to the mega-rich, with celebrities like singer Frank Ocean residing there. The curiously designed structure was developed by Alexico Group and was the first skyscraper designed by renowned international architects Herzog & de Meuron. It took 33 months to finish. 

The luxurious estate boasts state-of-the-art amenities that include a library lounge, an indoor/outdoor theater, an estuary with a 75ft pool, a landscaped outdoor sundeck and hot tub, a fitness center, yoga studio, steam room, sauna and a private dining room.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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