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BJ’s Wholesale Club CEO Lee Delaney dies at age 49

CFO Bob Eddy named as warehouse club chain’s interim chief executive

Russell Redman

April 9, 2021

3 Min Read
Lee Delaney death-BJs Wholesale Club.jpg
Delaney had served as CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club since February 2019.BJ's Wholesale Club

Lee Delaney, president and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club died unexpectedly yesterday at age 49.

Westborough, Mass.-based BJ’s said Friday that Delaney’s death was “due to presumed natural causes.” He had served as president and CEO since Feb. 2, 2019, taking over from Christopher Baldwin, who became executive chairman.

Robert Eddy-BJs Wholesale Club-CFO.jpgRobert Eddy (left), executive vice president and chief administrative and financial officer, has been named as interim CEO by the BJ’s board of directors, effective immediately.

“We are shocked and profoundly saddened by the passing of Lee Delaney,” Baldwin said in a statement Friday on behalf of the BJ’s board. “Lee was a brilliant and humble leader who cared deeply for his colleagues, his family and his community. We extend our most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to his family, especially his wife and two children. We will honor his legacy and remember the extraordinary impact he had on so many. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”

Before his ascension to the CEO posted, Delaney had appeared on track to become Baldwin’s successor. He was promoted to president in September 2019, taking that title from Baldwin. Previously, Delaney served as executive vice president and chief commercial officer, a role he held since February 2018. He joined BJ’s in May 2016 as executive vice president and chief growth officer. Before coming to the wholesale club retailer, Delaney was a partner at the Boston office of Bain & Co., where he was a leader in the firm’s consumer products practice, and prior to that he worked for Electronic Data Systems and Deloitte Consulting.

Related:BJ’s CEO Lee Delaney cites ‘transformational progress’ in fiscal 2020

Eddy joined BJ’s as senior vice president and director of finance in July 2007 and was promoted to executive vice president and CFO in January 2011. He added the title of chief administrative officer in January 2018.

“Bob partnered closely with Lee and has played an integral role in transforming and growing BJ’s Wholesale Club,” according to Baldwin. “We have the utmost confidence in Bob’s leadership and his deep knowledge of the business. We expect to announce permanent changes to our leadership within a reasonably short timeframe, aided by our prior succession planning.”

Overall, BJ’s Wholesale Club operates 221 warehouse club stores and 151 BJ’s Gas stations in 17 states.

Delaney made a notable impact in BJ’s structural improvements, according to Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink.

“He was a key figure in the transformation of BJ’s and the company’s return to the public markets. Through his talent appointments and strategic initiatives, we believe he positioned BJ’s well for a multi-year period of sustained top-line and margin expansion driven by new member adds, improved assortment and a return to unit growth,” she wrote in a research note released Friday.

Related:Lee Delaney to become CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club

This afternoon, Eddy and Baldwin hosted a brief call for the investor community to reiterate that the board had a contingency plan in place for such an event, “although we recognize having to use it comes with deep grief,” Wissink noted.

“The company plans to announce permanent changes to leadership ‘shortly/very soon,’ aided by prior succession planning,” she said. “The company’s immediate interim appointments, with the expedited announcement of permanent succession, signal to us that the company had a solid backup plan in place. The balance of leadership has long tenure at BJ’s and, therefore, we assume stable business continuity.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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