MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
November 26 – December 3, 2009 Edition

Borders Names Bill Dandy Senior VP, Marketing

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Authorlink News, Nov. 239, 2009)—Borders Group, Inc. last week appointed Bill Dandy Senior Vice President, Marketing, effective immediately.  Dandy has more than 20 years of retail experience, serving in marketing and operations leadership roles for several multi-billion-dollar retail organizations.

Most recently, he served for three years as Executive Vice President, Marketing, for Mattress Firm, Inc., where he led the senior management team through an effective strategic planning process to develop the platform for a renewed business model and brand architecture. Prior to that, Dandy served as Chief Marketing Officer for $2.3 billion retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods, where he transformed the marketing organization into a best-in-class team while absorbing the acquisition of Galyan’s, a $700 million competitor.  Before joining Dick’s, Dandy was Senior Vice President, Marketing, for 1,000-store fabric and craft chain Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., for three years, during which he was part of the executive company turnaround team. From 1997 through 2000, he served as Senior Vice President, Retail Sales and Operations, for Famous Footwear, and for four years prior to that, Dandy was Vice President, Marketing and Advertising, for $1.3 billion craft retailer Michaels Stores. At Borders, Dandy will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer Mike Edwards, who joined the company in September.

“Bill has a strong track record of strategic leadership in marketing at major retail organizations,” said Edwards. “He moves fast—planning and implementing organizational transformation within the marketing discipline and successfully aligning the brand vision with the business model. We are fortunate to have him at Borders and are confident that he will effectively lead our team as we re-establish Borders as a serious bookseller that is focused on providing the best customer experience in our business.”

As Dandy assumes the Senior Vice President, Marketing role, Art Keeney—who has served in that post at Borders since June—will transition to the position of Senior Vice President, Store Operations, where he will lead the national store operations team with a focus on customer service. Keeney is a 30-year retail veteran who has led operations as well as marketing for national retailers throughout his career. 

To provide high-level strategic leadership within Borders’ core book category, the company also announced that Larry Norton will move from his current role as Senior Vice President, Merchandising and Distribution, to the position of Senior Vice President, Merchandising for Adult Trade and Children’s Books. Norton, who joined the company in August, is a 27-year publishing industry veteran who will now lead the book buying teams at Borders.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores.