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Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch steps down; Michael Huseby appointed CEO of Nook Media

Following reports earlier this year that Barnes & Noble may be sliding away from producing its own Nook hardware, the outfit's CEO has just stepped away from his corner office. Announced in a series of shuffles, William Lynch has resigned as chief executive officer and director of the company effective immediately, while Michael P. Huseby has been appointed CEO of the Nook Media division (as well as president of B&N as a whole).

The firm also announced that vice president Allen Lindstrom was being subsequently promoted to CFO, reporting to Huseby. Moreover, Kanuj Malhotra -- VP of corporate development, has been promoted to CFO of Nook Media. Chairman Leonard Riggio thanked Lynch for his leadership during an era where B&N emerged as a real rival to Amazon in the reader / tablet market, while the man himself said that he "appreciated the opportunity to serve as CEO over the last three years." As for his immediate plans? Kicking back on the shores of Ocracoke and reading a book... on a Nook, of course.

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Barnes & Noble Announces Senior Leadership Changes

William Lynch Resigns as Company CEO

Michael Huseby Appointed CEO of NOOK Media LLC

Allen Lindstrom Named Corporate Chief Financial Officer

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) today announced that William Lynch has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company effective immediately. The Company also announced the following organizational changes: Michael P. Huseby has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of NOOK Media LLC and President of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Max J. Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble College will continue to lead the digital education strategy and report to Mr. Huseby, as will the Executive Management team of NOOK Media. Mr. Huseby and Mitchell Klipper, Chief Executive Officer of the Barnes & Noble Retail Group, will report directly to Leonard Riggio, Executive Chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve as CEO of this terrific Company over the last three years"

The Company also announced that Allen Lindstrom, Vice President and the Company's Corporate Controller, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. He will report to Mr. Huseby. Kanuj Malhotra, Vice President of Corporate Development, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of NOOK Media LLC.

"We thank William Lynch for helping transform Barnes & Noble into a leading digital content provider and for leading in the development of our award-winning line of NOOK® products including NOOK Simple Touch™, NOOK Simple Touch Glowlight™, and NOOK® HD and NOOK® HD+ ," said Leonard Riggio, Chairman. "As the bookselling industry continues to undergo significant transformation, we believe that Michael, Mitchell and Max are the right executives to lead us into the future." Mr. Riggio added that the Company is in the process of reviewing its current strategic plan and will provide an update when appropriate.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve as CEO of this terrific Company over the last three years," said William Lynch. "There is a great executive team and Board in place at Barnes & Noble, and I look forward to the many innovations the Company will be bringing to its millions of physical and digital media customers in the future."

Mr. Huseby joined Barnes & Noble as Chief Financial Officer in March 2012, and has led the Company's financial organization since that time. Prior to joining Barnes & Noble, he had a distinguished career in the media communications industry having most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cablevision Systems Corporation, a leading telecommunications and media company. Mr. Huseby also served in leadership positions at Charter Communications, Inc., the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S., as well as AT&T Broadband, a provider of cable television services.

Mr. Lindstrom joined Barnes & Noble in November 2007 as Vice President, Corporate Controller. Prior to joining Barnes & Noble, Mr. Lindstrom was Chief Financial Officer at Liberty Travel, Inc.

Mr. Malhotra joined NOOK Media in May 2012 and in his role as Vice President of Corporate Development has been responsible for developing strategic priorities for growth and profitability. He was previously Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Affinion International.