Righting the Ship: Best Buy Brings Back Founder, Richard Schulze
Best Buy management now has the support of its founder, Richard Schulze, who's returning to the electronics chain as chairman emeritus after he left the Board last year amid a scandal and then tried to buy out the company. He's already named two former colleagues, Brad Anderson, who previously served as Chief Executive, and Al Lenzmeier, who was the Chief Operating Officer, to serve on the Board of Directors, Best Buy announced today.
Schulze resigned last May amid a scandal involving former Chief Executive Brian Dunn. An internal investigation revealed that Dunn had a relationship with a female employee that showed "extremely poor judgment," and that Schulze had "acted inappropriately" for not disclosing the relationship to Best Buy's audit committee after learning about it.
Image Source: Flickr (osde8info)
That's all water under the bridge, and apparently Schulze, who holds a 20 percent state in Best Buy and is the company's largest shareholder, is on the same page as current CEO Hubert Joly.
"Over the past several months, I have come to know and respect Hubert, and have a high regard for the work he and his executive team are doing to revitalize Best Buy for the benefit of all stakeholders," Schulze said in a statement. "My dedication to the company that I founded and love is unwavering and, together with Hubert and the Board, I determined that the best way to support Best Buy would be to return in support of the initiatives underway.”
Best Buy has struggled to compete with online competitors, especially Amazon, which often offers lower prices without the burden of sales tax in some states. However, Best Buy recently began price matching certain online portals, Amazon included, in an attempt to win back online shoppers.
Schulze resigned last May amid a scandal involving former Chief Executive Brian Dunn. An internal investigation revealed that Dunn had a relationship with a female employee that showed "extremely poor judgment," and that Schulze had "acted inappropriately" for not disclosing the relationship to Best Buy's audit committee after learning about it.
Image Source: Flickr (osde8info)
That's all water under the bridge, and apparently Schulze, who holds a 20 percent state in Best Buy and is the company's largest shareholder, is on the same page as current CEO Hubert Joly.
"Over the past several months, I have come to know and respect Hubert, and have a high regard for the work he and his executive team are doing to revitalize Best Buy for the benefit of all stakeholders," Schulze said in a statement. "My dedication to the company that I founded and love is unwavering and, together with Hubert and the Board, I determined that the best way to support Best Buy would be to return in support of the initiatives underway.”
Best Buy has struggled to compete with online competitors, especially Amazon, which often offers lower prices without the burden of sales tax in some states. However, Best Buy recently began price matching certain online portals, Amazon included, in an attempt to win back online shoppers.
