Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (NASDAQ:OLLI) is seeing OLLI stock fall on Monday following news of its CEO’s death.
Mark Butler, the founder, President, Chairman and CEO of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, passed away on Sunday while enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend with his family. He was 61 years old at the time of his death.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet notes that Butler’s passing was unexpected. It doesn’t go into much detail about his death, including not saying what the cause of it was. Instead, it notes that John Swygert is immediately taking over as the interim President and CEO of the company.
Swygert is no stranger to Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. He’s been serving as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since January 2018. Before this, he was the company’s Chief Financial Officer since 2004.
Richard Zannino, a member of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Board of Directors, said the following on behalf of the Board.
“Mark was an exceptional entrepreneur, merchant, leader, philanthropist, friend and family man. From ringing the first sale in the first Ollie’s store in Mechanicsburg, PA in 1982, to leading the Company’s highly profitable growth to 345 stores in 25 states, Mark built a successful and enduring retail concept, assembled an incredible team, created thousands of jobs and delivered millions of bargains to our customers, while delivering exceptional shareholder value along the way.”
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet doesn’t reveal its plans for a new CEO. It may begin a search after a short period or could promote Swygert to the role if he works out well as an interim CEO.
OLLI stock was down 8.88% as of Monday afternoon.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
