Agree with you, Steve. It's not like CC was doing a bang-up job before he got there. There needs to be a fall guy and the CEO is always the usual suspect, but years of inexplicable decisions and poor execution preceded this mess.

He accepted the compensation and was the CEO, therefore he deserves the blame. It is not like shareholders of Circuit City get a refund for their multi-million dollar investment in their former CEO and all of the executive decisions that he made that we unsuccessful.

All would agree with you Steve that there were plenty of mistakes made before Phil's promotion to CEO. That was why he was put into the position to begin with. But he started with almost $1.0 billion in cash which has been squandered by not executing effectively in the stores or finding a communicatable and defensible position to the consumer. Maybe he did walk into an environment where "

All would agree with you Steve that there were plenty of mistakes made before Phil's promotion to CEO. That was why he was put into the position to begin with. But he started with almost $1.0 billion in cash which has been squandered by not executing effectively in the stores or finding a communicatable and defensible position to the consumer. Maybe he did walk into an environment where "

The problem was that Schoonover and his predecessor (Alan McColloch ) were two sides of the same coin. They believed in short time gain over long term prospects. Rick Sharp left a thriving business model which they squandered.

Phil's soldiers that he sent to Canada to run the Source by Circuit City( former Radioshack) chain have almost destroyed one of the best CE chains in Canada. The same mistakes were made here as inthe USA. The guidance from Richmond did not work here either. Shame on CC....

Mr. Schoonover's ego is soooo BIG , he has a hard time fitting through any doors. He managed to help in the sinking of TOPS appliance in New Jersey, the work he did for Best Buy never amounted to anything and the work he was to do for Circuit City, never materialized.Again, his ego drove him to failure!.....Interesting enough, he walked away with a pile of money!

Agreed, he shouldn't have to shoulder all of the blame; however, he must bear most of it as what may be the most critical damage of all was done during his reign and it could spell doom for a once proud and thriving CE chain. Our industry doesn't need yet another specialty retailer joining past failures such as Pacific Stereo, Tech HiFi, Team Electronics, Playback, Rogersound Labs, etc. Pretty soon there will be no one left but Best Buy and the mass merchant discount chains.

Schoonover got what he deserved and the money too!!!.......Read on:Former Circuit City executive to get $1.8 millionThe former top executive at Circuit City Stores Inc. will receive $1.8 million in a severance deal, according to documents filed late this afternoon with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Philip J. Schoonover will receive his annual base salary and a target bonus for the current fiscal year, each worth $900,000, the filing shows.

Schoonover resigned Monday as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Henrico County-based consumer electronics chain.

The 48-year-old Schoonover also will receive health and welfare benefit plan participation for two years, up to $50,000 in outplacement services and the acceleration of the vesting of his stock options and restricted stock awards that would have vested before Oct. 4.

He should go to jail for robbery:

Former Circuit City CEO will receive a severance package of $1.8 million after stepping down this week, the Richmond Times reported Thursday, citing Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

Schoonover will also continue to receive health benefits for two more years, as well as $50,000 in “outplacement services.”

Meanwhile, the company’s stock dropped to $1.44 Thursday, its lowest level in 22 years. Circuit City will report earnings for the quarter on Monday.

He was fond of provoking others with the adage, "failure is not an option." But, it was Phil who failed to deliver. He substituted style for substance, ego for common sense, and a short-sighted attitude for quick witted intelligence. He certainly was aware of the past transgressions of Circuit City before he got there. He painted a Schoonover portrait of what could be. But, in the end he failed to deliver on his rhetoric and platitudes. And, for that he is entirely to blame. And, well compensated for the troubles he has caused.

He was fond of provoking others with the adage, "failure is not an option." But, it was Phil who failed to deliver. He substituted style for substance, ego for common sense, and a short-sighted attitude for quick witted intelligence. He certainly was aware of the past transgressions of Circuit City before he got there. He painted a Schoonover portrait of what could be. But, in the end he failed to deliver on his rhetoric and platitudes. And, for that he is entirely to blame. And, well compensated for the troubles he has caused.

The job was way over his capabilities. Here's someone who got the Sony slot because he climbed up the ladder and knew how to play the politics to do so and moves on to Tops where he never stands out in the crowd. His decisions were made by Turchin and he moves up the ladder again to Best Buy where once again he knows how to play the politics and he's then selected for the CC job. He instantly screws up by alienating the most experienced sales people and cleans house. He couldn't hold on at that stage. So now he walks out with close to 2 mil severance and some other nitwit will hire him based on his "experience." Way over his head...way over.

It's true that Schoonover shouldn't get all the blame. After all, he didn't sign the long leases in poor locations, didn't drop appliances at the beginning of the housing boom, and didn't continue to pay leases on empty storefronts after stores closed.

I think that the company could have survived if those things had been fixed when he arrived. But they weren't.

I have been in retail 2 decades. It is always the CEO's fault, because they follow the "