Barnes & Noble Founder To Retire As Chairman

Barnes & Noble Inc. said Wednesday that its founder and chairman Leonard Riggio will retire as chairman after the shareholder meeting planned for September, but he will remain on the board. Riggio started the company as a college bookstore in 1965. There are now more than 8,000 stores across the Barnes & Noble enterprise, with more than 100,000 workers. Paul Guenther, a board member since 2015 and director of Zais Group Holdings , will serve as non-executive chairman after Riggio steps down. Barnes & Noble shares are inactive in premarket trading, but up 42.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is up 2.3% for the year so far.