Circuit City Names Wattles Nominee Vice Chairman

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 8/19/2008

Richmond, Va. — James Marcum, one of dissident investor Mark Wattles’ original nominees to Circuit City’s board, has been appointed vice chairman of the company.

The one-time chief financial officer of Hollywood Entertainment, Wattles’ former video rental chain, “will play a key role in leading the efforts to accelerate the pace of the company’s turnaround,” Circuit City said.

Marcum was also tapped by Wattles to help restructure and operate Ultimate Electronics after he wrested control of the CE chain in 2005.

“The board and I selected Jim for this role because he is a highly experienced retail turnaround executive,” chairman, president and CEO Phil Schoonover said in a statement. “I believe he will be a great partner to me and the rest of the management team as we focus on ways to improve our business.”

Schoonover and his co-directors had initially resisted Wattles’ attempts to seed the board with five hand-picked nominees, or to explore strategic alternatives including a buyout by Blockbuster. But the board eventually compromised under pressure from majority shareholders and to avoid what it described as a costly proxy fight.

“Today's announcement shows that the management team remains fully committed to delivering value to shareholders in the near term through the successful execution of our turnaround plan,” Schoonover said. He added that the board is continuing to pursue strategic alternatives that offer the best possible long-term results for shareholders.

Marcum also sits on the board’s executive committee, which is tasked with weighing strategic alternatives for the struggling CE chain.

In a statement, Marcum said that he is “pleased to be working with the company's board of directors, management team, associates, partners and vendors to execute a successful turnaround … We will measure the success of our turnaround by how well we execute in providing a superior consumer electronics shopping experience for our customers as well as our ability to generate better productivity and financial returns from our asset base.”

He added that the company has the keys to a successful turnaround in its vendor support, liquidity and “the dedication of its experienced management team.”
Marcum will receive $1 million for the first year of his service, which includes an annual base salary of $750,000 and a one-time sign-on bonus of $250,000.
Marcum is joined on Circuit’s board by two of Wattle’s other nominees, directors Elliot Wahle and Don Kornstein.