Stephen Gillett has stepped down as executive vice president of digital ventures and chief information officer of Starbucks to take on a new role leading digital efforts for Best Buy. Effective March 14th, the highly-regarded 36-year-old executive will serve as executive vice president and president of Best Buy Digital and Global Business Services for the Minneapolis electronics retailer. In the new role for Best Buy, he will report to CEO Brian J. Dunn and be responsible for overseeing the company’s digital strategy.
“I am excited to join Best Buy at this point in the company’s transformation and to work together in innovating and expanding its offerings into a broad multi-channel environment that integrates stores, digital, mobile and social, while continuing to strengthen the customer experience and business operations,” said the 36-year-old executive in a statement. “The company has a unique and compelling advantage because it touches customers in so many ways in today’s connected global marketplace.”
Gillett is a true geek, an avid gamer who was named by WIRED magazine as one of the top guild masters in World of Warcraft. He’s also a past Geek of the Week on GeekWire.
Last year, Gillett was named to Fortune’s “Executive Dream Team” and to Information Week’s “Chief of the Year.” A graduate of the University of Oregon, Gillett previously served as CIO of Corbis.
Following the departure of Gillett, Starbucks named Adam Brotman as chief digital officer and Curt Garner as chief information officer. Brotman previously served as senior vice president of Starbucks Digital Ventures, while Garner has held a number of roles at the coffee retailer over the past 14 years. Brotman, who previously worked at Corbis, will report to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz while Garner will report to CFO Troy Alstead.
“Over the past several years, there has been a seismic shift in consumer behavior in large part because of the rapid adoption of social and digital media as a primary means of connection and communication,” said Schultz in a press release. “At Starbucks, we have recognized this shift and have made it a priority to establish a position on the leading edge of innovation and are now taking this a step further. Adam, Curt and their respective teams will continue to lead the way as we accelerate our digital and technology investments.”
