Feisty, Fun and Forever Finding a New Way
Most people find one demanding job challenging enough. Susan Hoff holds down several: as the proprietress of an entrepreneurial Napa Valley winery, as the mother of two teenagers, as a Best Buy Executive, and as Founder, President, and CEO of its Best Buy Children’s Foundation.
Over the course of more that 25 years with Best Buy, Susan worked her way up the corporate ladder from an Accounts Payable clerk to the role of principal communications strategist for the Fortune 100 company. Before resigning as Senior Vice President of Communications and Chief Communications Officer in 2006, she had represented Best Buy’s entire family of brands, including its namesake chain in North America and Canada; high-end electronics retailer Magnolia Audio Video; the company’s computer service division, Geek Squad; and its Canadian Future Shop chain.
Susan established the Best Buy Children’s Foundation in May 1994 and has served as president of its board of trustees every year since. In that role, she created the annual Best Buy Charity Classic, Minnesota’s largest fundraising event, hosting LPGA legends alongside high-profile entertainers like Sheryl Crow, Beyonce, Elton John, Keith Urban, Seal and Dave Matthews.
In 2000, City Business Magazine of Minneapolis/St. Paul recognized Susan as one of the "Most Innovative Women in the Twin Cities" for her efforts with the Best Buy Children’s Foundation. The magazine also named her one of “Forty under 40” for her accomplishments in the communications field and service to the community, which currently includes her work as a trustee on the boards of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Guthrie Theater in addition to her Foundation work.
In March 2007, Susan graduated with distinction from the Bordeaux Business School in Talence, France with an MBA in International Business specializing in wine commerce. She applied and was accepted into the prestigious program to enhance her latest entrepreneurial venture with husband Duane. While her creativity, drive, and experience in marketing and communications made her a natural choice to launch a new wine brand, Susan sought the additional expertise and insight she knew this prestigious degree would deliver.
Life in Napa is a world apart for Susan. She welcomes the slower pace of life in the Valley’s sun-warmed environment, although her work life at Fantesca is anything but laid back. She oversees brand identity development and design, website concepts, international sales, member events and public relations. She appreciates that she and Duane can involve their teenagers Chelsea and Taylor in every aspect of their family wine business. She also enjoys the immediate gratification of a job well done – whether that job is shepherding a new vintage from concept through the bottling line, promoting a recent release to a global audience, or rubbing elbows with a local Napa Valley chef in her kitchen, creating a new dish for friends and family.
