DISCUSSION
Hubert Joly: New Best Buy CEO has the right stuff to lead chain to new heights
Written by George Anderson
Hubert Joly; Corie Barry - Photo: Best Buy
Hubert Joly, the architect of Best Buy’s turnaround, is stepping down as CEO and moving to the role of executive chairman of the board on June 11. Corie Barry, Best Buy’s current CFO and strategic transformation officer, will take over as CEO while also joining the company’s board.
Ms. Barry, who joined Best Buy in 1999 and has held a variety of financial and operational roles within the organization, became CFO in 2016 after serving as the retailer’s chief strategic growth officer. She will become the first female CEO in the company's 53-year history.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected as Best Buy’s next CEO and look forward to working closely with Hubert, our Board, and the exceptional Best Buy family to continue the momentum we have been able to achieve,” said Ms. Barry in a statement. “Today’s technology and consumer landscape creates tremendous opportunities for Best Buy to further expand and deepen relationships with our customers and employees, while continuing to deliver shareholder value.”
When Best Buy named Mr. Joly as its new CEO in August 2012, there were more than a few raised eyebrows in the retailing and vendor communities as well as on Wall Street. Mr. Joly, who was the former head of the hospitality company, Carlson, had never worked in retail before, and Best Buy was going through a rough patch even before its former CEO, Brian Dunn, abruptly left the company in April of that year.
While some saw a deck stacked against him, Mr. Joly came to retailer with a reputation for revitalizing companies. Hatim Tyabji, Best Buy’s chairman at the time, said Mr. Joly’s “range and depth of experience in transforming companies is exactly what the company needs at the moment, as is his energetic, imaginative and experienced leadership in executing strategies."
Fast forward to present day and Mr. Joly and his team have pulled off one of the great turnarounds in retail history. Once depicted by some as a retail lamb being led to the slaughter, Best Buy has become a success story and a guide for how to combine physical and digital assets to compete successful with Amazon.com and others.
During his tenure and the launch of the Renew Blue and Building the New Blue strategic growth plans, Best Buy has raised customer satisfaction levels while improving comp sales and gaining market share. The chain has also grown margins and cut $1.4 billion in costs that helped when reinvesting in areas of need for the business.
“Now is the right time to begin a leadership transition,” Mr. Joly said. “We have a tremendously talented, deep and dedicated leadership team at Best Buy, driven by our strategy and purpose to enrich lives with technology, build lasting relationships with customers and make positive impacts on society.”
He said of Ms. Barry, “Corie has played a critical role in developing and executing the proven growth strategy in place today, and I am confident she has the vision, skills, experience and leadership capabilities necessary to be our CEO.”