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    Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze resigns following internal investigation

    Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze resigns following internal investigation

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    Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze announces his resignation following an internal investigation.

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    Best Buy store
    Best Buy store

    Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze will resign from the company next month following an internal probe. The latest high profile departure from Best Buy follows a resignation from former CEO Brian Dunn in April, related to a personal misconduct investigation. An internal investigation found that founder Richard Schulze failed to alert Best Buy's board of directors that his handpicked chief executive, Brian Dunn, was in a relationship with a female colleague.

    Schulze discovered Dunn's inappropriate personal relationship in December, but he failed to pass along the information to the board's audit committee. The woman at the center of the probe is still employed by Best Buy working in the retailer's leadership training institute. "I understand and accept the findings of the audit committee," said Schulze in a statement this week, before revealing his resignation. Schulze, who served as Best Buy CEO from 1983 to 2002, originally founded the company back in 1966 when it was a stereo shop called Sound of Music. Schulze will remain on the company board until June 2013, but his resignation comes at a time when the retailer faces a number of challenges. The company posted a $1.7 billion quarterly loss in its fiscal fourth quarter 2012, and announced that it will close 50 US stores to reduce costs in a restructuring effort.