Best Buy’s founder and chairman engaged Sard Verbinnen & Co. to handle media after he quit the company’s board Thursday with a 20.1% stake in the embattled retailer.
Richard Schulze said June 7 he resigned, effective immediately, weeks before his he was expected to relinquish the reins but stay on as a director through 2013.
His exit follows a scandal that cost CEO Brian Dunn his job in April, only two weeks after Dunn announced plans to transform the $50B company.
“There is an urgent need for Best Buy to reinvigorate growth by reconnecting with today’s customers and building pathways to the next generation of consumers,” Schulze said via Sard, who said he is leaving to explore all available options for his ownership stake.
Schulze stepped down as CEO after 36 years in 2002.
Hill+Knowlton Strategies handled Dunn’s departure.