Bath and Body Works CEO Andrew Meslow is Stepping Down Suddenly

This week Wall Street learned that Andrew Meslow, the Chief Executive of Bath & Body Works, will be stepping down from his role in May due to health reasons.

The company has appointed Chair Sarah Nash as its interim CEO and plans on identifying a permanent replacement.

Nash is an investment banking veteran and the top boss of thermal management products maker Novagard Solutions. She has also been named executive chair of the company.

It’s been less than a year that Bath and Body Works became an independent company when L. Brands split itself last year into two firms. The other being Victoria’s Secret.

It was in early 2020 that Meslow took over as CEO at the then L. Brands from founder Lesie Wexner. Meslow had held several positions with the company for almost two decades.

After the close Wednesday, Bath & Body Works said it earned $2.30 a share, on revenue that rose 11.4% year over year to $3.03 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $2.28 on revenue of
$3.02 billion. Along with the better-than-expected results, the retailer announced a new $1.5 billion share-repurchase plan, and a 33% increase to its annual dividend.

Looking ahead, Bath & Body Works expects EPS in the range from $4.30 to $4.70, below the $4.78 average analyst estimate. Its outlook for the current first quarter was also a little light.

Company’s shares were down 5% in extended trading on Wednesday after it projected earnings for fiscal 2022 below Wall Street estimates.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.