ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Robert Riesbeck is now the CEO of hhgregg Inc., a company with more than $2 billion in annual revenue and more than 5,000 employees at its 226 stores.

Not bad for a guy who took his first business class with Greg Bizzarri at St. Clairsville High School, while also playing football for the Red Devils.

“That first accounting class really laid the groundwork for my career,” Riesbeck, a 1982 St. C. High graduate, said.

Riesbeck received the promotion from his role as chief financial officer with the Indianapolis-based electronics and appliances retailer. He replaces former CEO Dennis May, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Riesbeck said his sister, Judy Riesbeck-Wright, is the corporate secretary of Riesbeck’s Food Markets. Riesbeck’s CEO Richard Riesbeck and President William Riesbeck are Robert’s cousins.

“They do a wonderful job running that business,” Robert Riesbeck said.

From St. Clairsville High School, Robert Riesbeck traveled to the University of Akron to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting. There, he met future wife, Lynda (Schoolcraft) Riesbeck, who is a graduate of the former Mingo Junction High School.

Prior to joining hhgregg in 2014, Riesbeck served as operations executive/group chief financial officer at Sun Capital Partners, where he was responsible for financial and operations oversight of a diverse group of portfolio companies with combined revenues exceeding $5 billion. Prior to that, Riesbeck was chief financial officer at Marsh Supermarkets.

Even before that, Riesbeck worked for American Golf Corp. and Nike Inc. He began his career with the Granth Thonton accounting firm.

“My goal is to grow the top line of this business,” Riesbeck said, acknowledging the company experienced a downturn over the last few years because many consumers now purchase electronics online.

He said the best way to grow the business is to enhance sales of appliances, including “large TVs,” as well as furniture.

“We will match price with anybody in the world,” Riesbeck vowed. “We will give you the lowest price at the moment.”

Riesbeck said hhgregg now offers free delivery of major appliances. There are additional charges for installation or assembly, or for hauling away an old appliance.

Riesbeck said the St. Clairsville hhgregg store – located in the Ohio Valley Mall perimeter in the space Kroger originally occupied – is a “middle of the pack” store for the company.

“As a regional store of that size, it does pretty well,” he said.