(RTTNews) -  Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY: News ) announced Wednesday that Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy International Robert Willett will retire, effective December 31, 2009. Willett would be working alongside Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy Brian Dunn to ensure a smooth transition. The company also noted that it does not plan to name a successor to the specific role of International CEO.

Best Buy International is a the strategic business unit of Best Buy which is focused on creating opportunities for growth and innovation outside of the U.S. Meanwhile, Best Buy noted that it is confident in the abilities of the local leaders and teams in countries where it operates, even though it will no longer have an international head. The company said it is still committed to its global growth strategy, being one of the company's four strategic priorities.

Willett was appointed as chief executive officer in 2006. He was responsible for the implementation of a global integration and growth strategy to maximize the retailer's opportunities beyond North America, while continuing to re-engineer the supply chain and information technology functions that support the company's customer centric transformation.

Prior to that, Willett served as the executive vice president of operations and chief information officer for Best Buy. Willett's experience spans a variety of positions in the retail industry over the past several decades.
Prior to joining Best Buy, Willett served as a special adviser to the Best Buy board of directors on issues relating to operational efficiency and excellence. Previously, Willett served as global managing partner for Accenture Consulting in London, where he worked with best-in-class retailers throughout the world on strategy review, business transformation, procurement and supply chain management, brand positioning, technology transformation and customer segmentation.

Willett launched his retail career in store management at Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), a leading British department store chain, and has held executive positions, including managing director and group chief executive, for other retailers in Europe. In June 2008, he was also named to the board of directors for LightHaus Logic, Inc., an innovative provider of video analytics systems based in Canada.

BBY closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $42.24, up $0.68 on a volume of 5.20 million shares, lower than the three-month average volume of 6.13 million shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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