Corie Barry, chief executive officer of Best Buy Co., speaks during the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019.
Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Best Buy said Friday its board is probing allegations of misconduct by its CEO Corie Barry after receiving an anonymous letter.
The company is looking into whether Barry had an “inappropriate” relationship with another company executive, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the probe.
Best Buy declined to comment beyond this statement:
“Best Buy takes allegations of misconduct very seriously. Upon the receipt of an anonymous letter containing allegations against our CEO, the Audit Committee of the Board immediately retained outside counsel, Sidley Austin LLP, to conduct an independent review that is ongoing. We encourage the letter’s author to come forward and be part of that confidential process. We will not comment further until the review is concluded.”
In a written statement, Barry said, “The Board has my full cooperation and support as it undertakes this review, and I look forward to its resolution in the near term.”
It is not the first time Best Buy has dealt with such an issue. In 2012, its former CEO Brian Dunn resigned as the company investigated allegations of a relationship he had with an employee.
Earlier this year, McDonald‘s fired CEO Steve Easterbrook for a relationship with an employee that violated company policy.
Shares were down just under 1% in extended trading and are up more than 55% over the past 12 months.
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