Symantec Names Stephen Gillett Executive Vice President And COO

Steve Bennett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Symantec Corp. has announced the appointment of Stephen Gillett as Executive Vice President and chief operating officer of Symantec. Gillett will report to Bennett and begin his new position with Symantec effective December 21, 2012. Gillett was formerly Executive Vice President and President, Best Buy Digital, Global Marketing and Strategy. Gillett has been a member of Symantec’s board of directors since January 2012 but will step down effective immediately. At Symantec, Gillett’s initial responsibilities will include marketing, communications, and the IT function. Additional responsibilities will be added concurrent with the anticipated strategy announcement in late January.

Gillett brings a demonstrated track record of new business innovation, industry marketing, and executive management to Symantec. At Best Buy, he was responsible for the company’s digital, e-commerce, marketing, information technology, customer insights, enterprise strategy, corporate development, new business ventures, enterprise customer care, and channel design. Prior to joining Best Buy, Gillett was Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President, Digital Ventures at Starbucks. Prior to Starbucks Stephen held executive roles at Corbis, Yahoo and CNET.

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“Stephen is the perfect fit for the direction we are taking Symantec,” said Steve Bennett, Symantec Chairman and CEO. “He has been deeply involved in the transformation of a number of high profile companies at the executive level and is highly respected in the CIO community worldwide. Stephen’s appointment will ensure that Symantec is well-positioned for addressing our consumer and business customers’ needs. He will have an immediate impact due to his familiarity with the company from his tenure on the board. His arrival is timely as we continue to finalise our strategic direction and operational plan to be announced in late January.”

“Great companies are defined by their market position, customer base, brand awareness, the quality of their products and by the type of industry they’re involved in,” said Gillett. “Symantec is strong in all of these areas. I look forward to working with everyone at Symantec to help the company achieve its full potential.”