Rick Rommel, Best Buy

Rick Rommel
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Exclusive Brands Business
Best Buy

Rick Rommel is Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Exclusive Brands Business for Best Buy Co., Inc., a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services.  Rommel serves a key role in driving this growth business, which serves Best Buy and external customers in fourteen countries.

Rommel is known for his ability to incubate and grow business initiatives. Most recently, he led the New Business Customer Solutions Group, leveraging his internal and external partnerships to challenge current business model conventions and develop new long term growth opportunities. Before that he was vice president/general manager for Best Buy’s digital imaging business. In this position, he was responsible for the rapid growth of Best Buy’s digital camera business and introduced advanced photo services to the consumer.

Prior to Best Buy, Rommel was director of retail digital systems for Eastman Kodak. In this position, he oversaw Kodak’s global strategy for the company’s retail kiosk and photofinishing solution businesses. Previous to Kodak, he worked for North Communications as vice president of operations and senior vice president of sales and marketing, where he managed the design, development and operation of kiosk and internet solutions. No stranger to innovation and problem-solving, Rommel also worked as a rocket scientist for the Hughes Space and Communication Company for ten years where he developed ground segment software in addition to developing satellite controls and satellite modeling.

A native of southern California, Rick holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in computer science from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Rick currently lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and their two children.