Leonard H. Roberts served as Chairman, President and CEO for RadioShack Corporation from 1999 to 2005. He became Executive Chairman in May of 2005 and retired in May 2006.

Roberts had one goal in mind when he joined Tandy Corporation's RadioShack operating unit as President in 1993 – transform the sleeping retail giant into a vibrant retail service concept.

Roberts envisioned that by using the company's greatest asset – its knowledgeable sales associates – RadioShack's mission would be to “demystify technology” in every neighborhood in America. He leveraged that asset by re-imaging the company with the now-well-known advertising slogan, "You've Got Questions. We've Got Answers." This focus on connecting people with technology resulted in dramatic growth in the number of stores and overall sales and profits.

The world already recognized RadioShack for its specialized parts, batteries and accessories, which anchored the financial stability of the company. But Roberts realized that RadioShack had to move into uncharted territory to accelerate its growth. So he set out to re-invent RadioShack as a “Retail Services Concept,” and developed the company’s “anchor” strategy by creating an innovative opportunity – selling wireless phones and services.

This led to yet another pioneering retail innovation by Roberts – recurring revenue streams, or residuals, drawn from the sale of each handset and service contract. Prior to this two-anchor strategy, RadioShack was selling fewer than 100,000 wireless units a year. Today, the company is the leading retailer of wireless phones and service from through its RadioShack stores and its operation of wireless kiosks.

Roberts kept RadioShack on target by expanding its market leadership position and continuing efforts to differentiate itself in the marketplace. In 2000, shareholders approved changing the name of RadioShack's parent company – Tandy Corporation – to RadioShack Corporation to focus attention on one company with one vision: To become the most powerful one-stop shop to connect people to the wonders of modern technology. The company's New York Stock Exchange symbol officially became "RSH" on May 31 of that year.

With Roberts' leadership, RadioShack moved into a position to capitalize on its expansive distribution network, merchandising and marketing strengths. This allowed the company to grow its position as the top seller of wireless phones, and strengthen its position as one of the largest retail channels for the introduction of new convergent technologies – as well as an unparalleled provider of a broad line of batteries, parts, accessories and consumer electronics.

To better serve RadioShack's stores, and ultimately to better serve RadioShack's customers, Roberts' call to "Think Customers First" included moving the home office in Fort Worth to a new 900,000-square-foot corporate campus along the banks of the Trinity River on the north end of downtown Fort Worth. The move combined home office functions spread throughout four separate facilities into one integrated campus. The new environment brings teams together and streamlines workflows, better facilitating the company's focus on delivering innovative products and timely solutions to customers.

Roberts' vision and leadership resulted in major business news coverage in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune and Business Week, and has brought industry accolades such as a top-10 ranking in Entrepreneur magazine's “Best Franchises” list. Roberts has been listed among the Top 10 Information Technology and Business Leaders in Information Week.

Before joining RadioShack, Roberts served as Chairman and CEO of Shoney's Inc. and as President and CEO of Arby's Inc. He is credited with engineering what has been widely acclaimed as a remarkable turnaround at Arby's. He also served in key management and marketing positions for Ralston Purina Company and managed major new product development programs for Armour and Company and the Central Soya Company.

Roberts earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois. He also earned a Juris Doctor from De Paul University Law School in Chicago and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1974.

Roberts serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where he serves as treasurer and chairperson of the Finance and Administration Committee. Roberts also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Students in Free Enterprise, Inc. (SIFE) in which he served as Chairman for the 2006-2007 term. Roberts is also a founding board member of the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Fort Worth's Safe City Commission, as well as serves as vice chairman for Texas Health Resources and chairman of that Audit Committee. He was also a member of the National Board of Advisors of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Roberts served as past chair of the Board of Directors of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), the past chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Way of America, and also served as past chair of The North Texas Bold Initiative. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University.

Roberts was elected to the Board of Directors of J.C. Penney Company Inc. in 2002 and in the fall of 2006 he was elected to the Board of Directors of Rent-A-Center, Inc. Roberts also served on the Board of Directors of TXU Corp. from 2005-2007.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan presented Roberts with the Presidential Private Sector Initiative Award. In 1991, Roberts was honored with the annual Business Leadership Award presented by Restaurant Business magazine. He also received the B'nai B'rith International Distinguished Achievement Award and the 1991 Multi-Unit Foodservice Chain Operator's Award. In 1992, Roberts received the Wall Street Bronze Critics Award. Roberts was named Brandweek magazine's Retailing Marketer of the Year in 1996. In 1997, Roberts was named Sales & Marketing Executive of the Year by the Sales & Marketing Executives of Fort Worth, Texas. In 1999, he was honored as Father of the Year by the Dallas/Fort Worth Father of the Year Committee.

Roberts was recognized by Texas Business magazine as one of the top 25 most influential Texans in Technology in 2000. In 2004, he received the Distinguished Leadership Award from Leadership Fort Worth. Also in 2004, the United Way System (over 1,400 local agencies serving over 60,000 nonprofit agencies with 3 million volunteers, raising over $4 billion), paid an unprecedented tribute to Roberts – recognizing his leadership as Chairman of United Way of America (2002-2004), as he led the transformation of the entire movement toward a new mission and vision built around creating powerful community impact. In 2005 he was inducted into the Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame. And in January 2006, Roberts was inducted into the National Retailing Hall of Fame.