Best Buy board investigating CEO Corie Barry for alleged misconduct

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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‘s board is probing allegations that the electronics retailer’s CEO Corie Barry had an inappropriate romantic relationship with another company executive.

The board had received an anonymous letter that said Barry years-long relationship with former Best Buy senior vice president Karl Sanft before she became CEO in June 2019. Sanft did not immediately respond to CNBC for comment.

The electronics retailer’s board retained outside counsel to investigate the allegations.

“Best Buy takes allegations of misconduct very seriously,” a Best Buy spokesperson said. “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.” The allegations were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

It is not the first time Best Buy has dealt with such an matter. In 2012, its former CEO Brian Dunn resigned as the company investigated allegations of a relationship he had with an employee.

Other companies have faced similar issues. 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.

On Tuesday, Barry had been scheduled to make a presentation at the National Retail Federation conference, but did not appear, citing an illness.

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