Borders Group Names Arthur Keeney Senior Vice President, Marketing

By Press Release - Jun 16 , 2009

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 16, 2009—Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) has appointed Arthur Keeney Senior Vice President, Marketing, effective June 29. Keeney brings over three decades of retail experience to Borders with specific expertise in marketing, advertising and customer relationship management (CRM), as well as strength in merchandising and operations. He will report to Borders Group Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing Anne Kubek.
Keeney will provide strategic direction for Borders’ sales-driving initiatives and lead the team responsible for development and execution of effective marketing and promotional programs across all channels, including e-mail, Internet, direct marketing, CRM, advertising, in-store marketing, publicity, entertainment alliances and social media.
In addition, he will oversee the company’s e-commerce channel, Borders.com. Keeney will conduct an executive search for a new leader at the vice president level for the e-commerce business as Rich Fahle, the current Vice President of Borders.com, moves into the newly created role of Vice President, Creative, Outreach and Entertainment. Fahle will report directly to Keeney, as will the Borders.com leader when appointed.
“The greatest challenge for our company right now is to drive sales and Art brings a solid track record of demonstrated results,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “He has a strong sense of urgency around our priorities—including reconnecting with customers as a serious bookseller and improving execution—and has a collaborative nature that comes from serving in merchandising and operations roles as well heading marketing at major retail organizations. Art will be an asset to Borders and we look forward to benefiting from his leadership.”
Prior to joining Borders, Keeney, 56, served for eight years as Vice President and General Manager at Harold Friedman, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based grocery retailer where he was responsible for marketing, merchandising, store operations and the execution of a successful competitive strategy. From 1998 through 2001, Keeney served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Retail at Nash Finch Company, a $5 billion grocery distribution and retail organization headquartered in Minneapolis where Keeney served under Marshall, who was then Chief Executive Officer.
Keeney was with metro Detroit-based Kmart Corporation’s Super Kmart Division for five years from 1993 through 1998, last serving as Director of Sales and Advertising with responsibility for delivering a $4.5 billion sales plan for the fashion, general merchandise and grocery businesses. Earlier in his career, he served as a senior retail consultant and in several management posts with Safeway Stores, Inc.
Keeney is a 1977 graduate of Texas A&M University and completed a post-graduate management program at the University of Southern California.
About Borders Group
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. is a leading retailer of books, music and movies with approximately 1,000 stores and over 25,000 employees. More information on the company is available at www.borders.com/media.

Mary Davis
(734) 477-1374
mdavis4_at_bordersgroupinc_dot_com