Press Release: Barnes & Noble Names Ronald D. Boire Chief Executive Officer
New York, New York - July 2, 2015 - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the nation's largest retail bookseller, today announced that Ronald D. Boire has been named Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble's Retail business, effective September 8, 2015. Mr. Boire is currently President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors, Sears Canada (SCC.TO, SRSC).
Prior to serving as President & Chief Executive Officer of Sears Canada, Inc., Mr. Boire had a broad range of experience in retail and technology. He held the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer and President, Sears and Kmart Formats at Sears Holdings (SHLD). Mr. Boire also served in other executive positions including President and CEO at Brookstone, Inc., where he led a turnaround of Brookstone's performance through improved operations, product development and marketing. While at Toys "R" Us he served as President, North America from 2006 through 2009.
Mr. Boire has extensive experience in consumer electronics where he has been involved in some of the most important product launches over the past 25 years. He was Executive Vice President, Global Merchandise Manager for Best Buy (BBY), responsible for managing Best Buy's $30 billion U.S. Business Teams, global technology and vendor management, global sourcing and private label development. Before working at Best Buy, Mr. Boire served in a variety of increasingly senior roles during a 17-year career at Sony Electronics, Inc., including President of Sony's Personal Mobile Products Company, where he was responsible for Sony's Audio and Mobile Electronics products in the U.S., and President of the Consumer Sales Company responsible for sales and distribution in the U.S. Mr. Boire currently serves as a Director of the Retail Council of Canada and was previously a Director of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Mr. Boire has dual MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School.