- Lee Delaney, president and CEO of
BJ's Wholesale Club, died on Thursday at age 49. - He's presumed to have died of natural causes, the company said.
- Delaney joined BJ's in 2016 and is remembered as a "brilliant and humble leader."
Lee Delaney, president and CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club, died Thursday at age 49 of "presumed natural causes," the company said Friday.
"We are shocked and profoundly saddened by the passing of Lee Delaney," board chairman Christopher Baldwin said. "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," he added.
Bob Eddy, executive vice president and chief administrative and financial officer, will serve as interim CEO, and Baldwin has been appointed as executive chairman, the company said.
Delaney joined BJ's in 2016, and was named president of the wholesale chain in 2019. He earned a degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University before joining Deloitte Consulting and Bain & Co.
"Lee's strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in transforming BJ's Wholesale Club," Baldwin said of Delaney in 2019 when he was promoted to president.
BJ's Board of Directors plans to announce permanent leadership changes "within a reasonably short timeframe, aided by our prior succession planning," the company said.