David J. Edmondson (born June 10, 1959) is an American businessman, known for his career at RadioShack and his termination as CEO for falsifying his educational background.
Early life and education
David J. Edmondson was born June 10, 1959 in Methuen, Massachusetts. His mother Jeannette was a homemaker, and his adoptive father was a US soldier. Like most children of military families, Edmondson moved a great deal throughout his early life, including periods in Germany and Fort Jackson, South Carolina before settling at Fort Carson, Colorado in 1968, where Edmondson remained until his graduation from Alpha Omega Christian School in 1977.
Edmondson moved to San Dimas, California in 1977 where he attended Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College (PCBBC). While at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, Edmondson began his study to become a Baptist minister. Edmondson left California after one year on campus and returned to Colorado where he became the associate pastor of Security Baptist Temple, in Security, Colorado. He continued his studies through correspondence with PCBBC and claimed he earned his ThG in Theology in May 1980.
Although he has attended several colleges, he does not currently hold any academic degrees.
Career
After his ordination, Edmondson relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, where he founded the Twin Cities Baptist Church. He started the church in a borrowed space donated by an Omaha businessman.
In 1982, Edmondson returned to Colorado Springs and attempted to start another church. The second church was not successful and Edmondson left the full-time ministry.
In 1983, Edmondson again relocated, this time to Cleveland, Ohio, and went to work for direct mail advertising company ADVO System, Inc. While serving as National Account Marketing Executive, Edmondson worked on developing and implementing marketing programs with various divisions of Tandy Corporation, including its RadioShack Division.
RadioShack
In 1994, Edmondson wrote a letter to the then President of RadioShack, Leonard H. Roberts. In the letter he wrote that he had an idea that he would like to share, and asked Roberts for 15 minutes of his time. Roberts agreed to a meeting in early February and halfway through Edmondson's presentation, Roberts stopped the conversation and offered him a job by asking "What do I have to do to get you to join this company?" When Edmondson expressed his lack of interest in joining RadioShack, Roberts let the subject drop, but remained intrigued with Edmondson's idea. Over the next several months the two men developed a strong working relationship, and by November 1994 Edmondson finally agreed to join the company as Vice President of Marketing for the RadioShack Division.
Over the next 11 years Edmondson worked to promote what he considered the core strengths of RadioShack: its people and its pervasive network of stores. Edmondson believed that with more than 35,000 employees and 7,000 neighborhood stores, RadioShack was well positioned to drive the adoption of new digital technology. He focused on marketing these core strengths and establishing strategic alliances with major computer, wireless and media providers, along with the development and execution of "store-within-a-store" concepts and "residual income" business models.
Edmondson was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the top 100 marketers in America in 1996 for his initial repositioning of the RadioShack brand, leveraging the existing tagline "You've Got Questions... We've Got Answers".
Edmondson held positions as Vice President of Marketing (1994-1995), Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising (1995-1997), Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (1997-2000), President and Chief Operating Officer (2000-2005) and Chief Executive Officer (2005-2006).
Arrests, newspaper investigation, resignation
In January 2005, shortly after RadioShack announced that Edmondson would be taking over as CEO, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated--his third such charge--in Southlake, Texas. Edmondson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. This incident prompted the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to begin looking more closely at his past.
Edmondson resigned in February 2006, after the Star-Telegram disclosed that he had falsified his résumé and biography, claiming two non-existent college degrees.
Post-RadioShack
In 2007, Edmondson founded EasySale, an Internet-based consignment and liquidation company based in Arlington, Texas. In 2009, he founded and became CEO of E-Recycling Corps, an enterprise engaged in the collection, refurbishment and global redistribution of used wireless devices.