Barnes & Noble taps Sears Canada CEO Ronald Boire to lead retail business after split

Barnes & Noble, which plans to split into two companies next month, has tapped Sears Canada CEO Ronald Boire to lead the bookseller's retail business. After the split, current CEO Michael Huseby will become executive chairman of the separate college bookstore business.

The company expects the split to happen by the end of August. Boire will join the company in September as CEO of Barnes & Noble Inc., overseeing its nearly 650 stores and its Nook e-book business. The current CEO of the college textbook business, Max Roberts, will keep that role after the unit is spun off into the publicly traded Barnes & Noble Education Inc.

Before becoming CEO of Sears Canada, Boire held retail leadership roles at Brookstone, Toys R Us and Best Buy Inc.