Marie J. Toulantis, CEO of Barnes & Noble's online business, B&N.com, has resigned and will now work for the company as a consultant. Her duties have been assumed by Tom Burke, executive v-p of e-commerce, and Kevin Frain, CFO, who is now also executive v-p of e-commerce operations.
After a 25-year career in banking, Toulantis joined B&N in 1997 as executive v-p of finance and later became CFO. In 1999, she became CFO of B&N.com and helped take public the e-commerce company, which for a time was jointly owned by B&N and Bertelsmann. In 2001, Toulantis was named president and CEO of B&N.com. In 2003, B&N bought back Bertelsmann's share, and in the following year B&N.com was folded back into B&N, with Toulantis remaining the e-leader.
In a statement, B&N CEO Steve Riggio said that Toulantis "played a pivotal role in the emergence of Barnes & Noble.com as one of the leading Internet sites of any retailer in the world. We thank her for her many years of service and for the leadership she provided to the entire organization."