Online retailer Beyond Inc’s chief steps down amid activist investor pressure

Internet retailer Beyond Inc, formerly known as Overstock.com, on Monday said its chief excecutive, Jonathan Johnson, has stepped down amid activist investor pressure.

Hedge fund JAT Capital, which owns a 9.6 per cent stake in Beyond Inc, last week urged the board to replace CEO Johnson, arguing that he is to blame for the company’s poor financial performance.

On the interim, Johnson will be replaced by Dave Nielsen, who has been Beyond’s president since 2019, while the search for a permanent CEO has begun, the company added.

In a letter to the company dated Nov. 2, John Thaler, who runs JAT, proposed that businessman and television personality Marcus Lemonis, who joined Beyond’s board last month, should become CEO.

JAT Capital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the change.

Overstock.com rebranded its website under the Bed Bath & Beyond name after it acquired intellectual property from the bankrupt company in June.