Best Buy Restructures Management Team

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy has restructured its management, giving four senior executives expanded roles to take advantage of growth opportunities, the chain said.

The appointments are effective earlier this month and include:

• Mike Vitelli, formerly home solutions senior VP/general manager, to executive VP with responsibility for all customer operating groups. In his new role, Vitelli will lead Best Buy's PC mobility, home solutions and entertainment operating groups, and will also have oversight for the company's merchandising function, private-label business, and Magnolia Audio Video and Pacific Sales retail chains.
• David Morrish, formerly senior VP and business group leader for computer hardware and software, peripherals, digital services, car electronics and digital imaging, to the newly created position of executive VP with responsibility for connected digital solutions. In this role, Morrish will be responsible for working across Best Buy's operating groups and brands to develop a business strategy and model that would allow the company to further profit from new connectivity technologies. Morrish and his team will also work to build integrated solutions that will allow customers to subscribe to certain Best Buy products and services. In addition, Morrish will have oversight of Best Buy for Business and other new growth categories as they evolve.
• Barry Judge, formerly marketing senior VP, to chief marketing officer, a title last held by Mike Linton who left the company in 2006. In his expanded role, Judge will provide overall vision and leadership to all areas of the company's marketing, including brand management, customer research and development, trends, promotions, advertising, marketing communications, and internal communications and public affairs.
• David Berg, from senior VP to executive VP of international strategy and corporate development. Berg is responsible for the company's mergers and acquisition activities as well as the identification and evaluation of opportunities in new geographic markets. He continues to have overall responsibility for Best Buy's commercial office, including oversight of its relationship with Accenture as an information technology and human resources outsourced service provider. In addition, he continues to be responsible for purchasing all of the company's goods not intended for resale.

"As we continue to grow this enterprise, we are fortunate to be able to rely on a team of senior leaders who represent a mix of rich perspectives, deep industry experiences and understandings of our company and its unique culture," said Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president/COO. "These individuals have strong points of view on how to turn insights and ideas about better serving our customers into scaleable actions."

Dunn described Vitelli as "a leader with a wealth of knowledge about the consumer electronics industry and unique insights into our vendor relationships. I expect Mike to play a critical role as he brings teams together to share expertise, create targeted solutions and ultimately drive growth by better meeting the needs of our customers around the world."

Vitelli joined Best Buy in 2004 from Sony Electronics, where he held several executive management positions including president of its personal audio products company, executive VP of the business and professional products group, consumer products group marketing executive VP, and executive VP of the visual products company. Over the past four years he has held a series of merchandising posts for Best Buy and has served as the company's public face.