Brian Dunn’s position as CEO at Best Buy came to an abrupt halt Tuesday when he quickly resigned during a personal conduct evaluation. The company hasn’t released any detailed information on what exactly he was charged with, but there have been a lot of strong opinions on just how qualified he was for the position in the first place.
Along with the announcement of losing its CEO, came news that Best Buy will be shutting down 50 of its stores and laying off at least 400 employees across the country in an effort to reduce spending. It also announced, “There were no disagreements between Mr. Dunn and the company on any matter relating to operations, financial controls, policies or procedures. There was a mutual agreement that it was time for new leadership to address the challenges that face the company.”
The only curious thing about that statement, is that Dunn didn’t just come to the conclusion that he was done being CEO after thinking about it good and hard like Best Buy would suggest – he resigned from the position at the first signs of a personal conduct probe.
Jeff Sonnenfeld of Yale expressed his opinions on the ordeal, stating, “His happiest job was to be a store manager. Probably, he should have stayed at something like that - somebody who’s happy as the captain of the ship shouldn’t be running the whole line.”
Whether or not Dunn was qualified to serve as CEO of such a large company should have been looked into thoroughly before he was given the position. It’s hard to tell if it was in fact his actions that brought on some of the financial struggles the company was having, but in his own words, Dunn agrees that the company is now headed for a “strong future.”
On a more optimistic note, during the majority of his time as CEO, Brian Dunn essentially shaped the company into what it is today. Among his top priorities were superior product selection, service and customer experience. He left on good terms, and according to both Dunn and Best Buy – there were really no hard feelings.
With the company’s steady decline in share value the past few years, the real question here is – will the consumer electronics retailer be able to step up its game and come out on top, or will simpler online services like Amazon completely take over?
Edited by
Amanda Ciccatelli
