May 19 (Reuters) - Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) said on

Monday it has appointed former Nike chief strategy and

transformation officer, Daniel Heaf, as chief executive,

effective immediately.

He replaces Gina Boswell, who has been at the helm of the

beauty and skincare firm since November 2022. In March, the

company said Boswell would be temporarily absent, for several

weeks, for surgery.

The change in leadership comes as the company grapples with

uncertain discretionary spending, which caused it to forecast

annual sales and profit largely below expectations in February.

The company on Monday also announced preliminary

first-quarter results and said it maintains its full-year net

sales and profit forecast.

Net sales rose 3% to $1.42 billion for the quarter ended May

3, in line with analysts' expectations, while profit per share

of 49 cents exceeded estimates of 42 cents, according to data

compiled by LSEG.