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Bose, the company known for muting ambient noise, is also pretty good at quietly replacing its chief executives.

Back in January, the audio company said it was in the process of closing 119 store locations across North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, citing a "dramatic shift to online shopping" as the reason. However, what it didn't mention at the time was that president and CEO Phil Hess was also stepping down.

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A private company with a reputation for being secretive, Bose doesn't usually announce executive changes -- and Hess is still listed as president and CEO on the company's website. But a Bose spokesperson confirmed the C-suite shakeup: "Yes, there has been a leadership change at Bose. Phil stepped down in late January."

Technically, Bose didn't fill the CEO position. Jim Scammon, who's worked at Bose for 30 years in a number of leadership positions -- most recently as CFO -- has taken over as president and chief operating officer (Scammon's LinkedIn profile lists his new titles). The spokesperson told CNET that former CEO Bob Maresca, who remained chairman of the board after his retirement at the end of 2017, has stepped in to work closely with Scammon.

Read more: Bose's new beat -- CEO Bob Maresca profiled (from 2016)

As a private company, Bose does not report earnings, but there have been some hints beyond the impending store closings that suggest the company has been navigating choppy waters. True wireless earbuds like the AirPods Pro are among the hottest tech products on the market, and Bose had announced two new products in 2019 to fight back against Apple's growing dominance in the red-hot market segment.

The Earbuds 500, originally due last year, and Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700, which had been slated for 2020, are now both slated closer together. "The product development [for the Earbuds 500] has taken longer than anticipated and availability has been delayed until later this year," a Bose spokesperson told CNET, adding that the delay had been "compounded" by the coronavirus that's been sweeping through Asia and the rest of the world.

Read more: Where are Bose's new AirPods competitors?