Ron Boire has left his post as president of Sony Electronics Consumer Sales Co. to join Best Buy as executive VP/GMM of its flagship store group.
Boire succeeds Mike London, who has been tapped to lead Best Buy’s new customer centricity initiative, the most critical of four core strategic areas around which the company has aligned itself.
Bob Weissburg, strategic sales planning VP for Sony Electronics Consumer Sales and a 23-year company veteran, has been named to replace Boire as president. Weissburg, who will report to Sony Electronics president/COO Dick Komiyama, will now be responsible for the company’s national sales and distribution organization for all CE products in the United States.
Boire, a 17-year veteran of Sony, had previously served as president of its personal mobile products unit. In his new role, he will be responsible for Best Buy Stores’ merchant organization, including CE, PCs, entertainment software and major appliances. Best Buy president/COO Al Lenzmeier cited Boire’s “tremendous industry knowledge, global perspective” and anticipation of market segment growth among the strengths he brings to the chain.
London, who joined Best Buy in 1996 as VP/general merchandise, will assume an executive leadership role for the customer centricity initiative, which is presently being organized. The initiative will focus on identifying the customer and understanding his wants and needs. The other three strategic thrusts are operations efficiency, entertainment and connected home services.
