Remembering Gary Arnold

We were saddened to learn that industry vet Gary Arnold died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Arnold spent nearly two decades with Best Buy, rising to SVP of Entertainment Marketing. During his tenure he helped shape Best Buy’s home entertainment strategies in the late ’90s and early ’00s, transforming Best Buy into a leader in CD sales in America. Earlier in his career Arnold worked in the Marketing Department for WEA in Chicago.

In a Facebook post, Arnold’s wife Carol Boothby Arnold said, “My dear, beloved husband Gary Arnold passed away at 3am this morning after a heroic battle with cancer. All five of his children made it to our house in time to be with him, and we surrounded him with love as he made his transition. There are no words to say how much we will miss him. He was a towering figure in our lives in more ways than one. We ask all of you who are the praying kind to say a prayer for the big man. He was one of a kind.”

Sky Daniels, GM & PD of KCSN/Los Angeles used to work with Arnold at Best Buy’s former in-house record label, Redline. Daniels said, “We lost a giant, in so many ways. Gary was a great friend and a man who helped artists more than many will ever know.”