bebe CEO resigns, effective immediately

Brisbane, California — bebe stores CEO Steve Birkhold has left the company, effectively immediately, and an interim chief has been named to lead while a search for a permanent replacement is underway, said bebe stores on Thursday.



Following the sudden departure of Birkhold, the board appointed Jim Wiggett, currently CEO of Jackson Hole Group, as bebe’s interim CEO.



“We would like to thank Steve for his contributions as CEO, and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Manny Mashouf, chairman of the bebe board, in a statement.



Wiggett has been providing advisory services to the 227-store chain for the past five years. Prior to founding the Jackson Hole Group, a strategic consulting group, he held a number of executive positions with several high-profile companies, most recently Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton as executive VP and as president and CEO of Sephora.com.