Best Buy appoints a new CIO and two international execs

Neville Roberts was named enterprise chief information officer for all of Best Buy Co. Inc., and Scott Wheway and Sean Skelley were appointed chief operating officer and president, respectively, of Best Buy’s international operations, the retailer says.

Roberts moves up to corporate chief information officer after holding the same title for Best Buy International since joining the retail chain in January 2008. He will continue to report to Bob Willett, CEO of Best Buy International, whom Roberts succeeds as enterprise CIO. The CIO position oversees technology operations and developments for Best Buy, including web-enabled multichannel infrastructure.

Prior to joining Best Buy, Roberts worked at Accenture, most recently as senior partner in the consulting firm’s Global Retail Practice, where he worked on e-commerce, multichannel, supply chain and customer relationship management projects for clients that included Wal-Mart International and Tesco plc.

Wheway, as chief operating officer of Best Buy International, will oversee the retailer’s operations in Canada, China, Mexico and Turkey, plus Best Buy’s joint venture in Europe with The Carphone Warehouse. Wheway, who reports to Willett, will also oversee Best Buy International’s marketing and customer experience operations.

Best Buy operates the multichannel Future Shop consumer electronics chain as a wholly owned subsidiary in Canada, and it has worked with The Carphone Warehouse to open Best Buy Mobile sections of its U.S. stores and to bring its Geek Squad services unit to Europe. This year, Best Buy plans to introduce Best Buy brand stores, services and web sites in Europe, the company says.

Prior to Best Buy, Wheway was managing director of Boots the Chemist, a U.K.-based chain of health and beauty stores. He also spent 20 years at Tesco plc’s Tesco Stores Ltd., where he was operations director.

Skelley, who will report to Wheway, fills the newly created position of president of Best Buy’s international retail operations. Skelley will manage Best Buy’s operations in Canada, China, Mexico and Turkey. He will also run Best Buy’s multichannel operations in Europe through its partnership with The Carphone Warehouse.

Prior to his appointment as president of international retail operations, Skelley was senior vice president of Best Buy’s services business group, where he was responsible for developing a global services strategy. He joined Best Buy in 1988, working in several roles including senior merchant, regional manager and director of Best Buy services. In 2002, he led Best Buy’s acquisition of Geek Squad, which provides computer services to customers in homes and workplaces.

Best Buy is No. 10 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.