Barnes & Noble Inc. named former cable television executiveMichael Huseby chief financial officer as the largest U.S.bookstore chain shifts toward becoming more of a technologycompany.

Huseby, formerly CFO at Cablevision Systems Corp., will overseeBarnes & Noble's capital structure and help boost its digitalbusiness, the New York-based company said today in a statement.Huseby replaces Joseph Lombardi, who resigned in October. AllenLindstrom had been CFO on an interim basis.

While Barnes & Noble operates about 700 retail locations andmore than 600 college bookstores, its future growth lies inelectronic books. The company started its digital business in 2009by selling e-books and releasing the Nook e-reader. The companyprojects the Nook business to generate $1.5 billion in sales in thefiscal year ending April 30, accounting for about 20 percent of itstotal revenue.

The retailer sells the second most e-books in the U.S. afterAmazon.com Inc. Barnes & Noble has had to sacrifice profits byspending on developing devices, advertising and building boutiquesin stores to showcase the Nook. It posted a net loss of $70.6million in the 12 months through January.

The losses and concern that the retailer won't be able tomaintain spending to compete with Amazon and Apple Inc., whichsells e-books through devices such as the iPad, has weighed onshares. Barnes & Noble has declined 7.5 percent this yearthrough March 9, when it closed at $13.39. The shares reached a52-week high of $21.06 on June 20.

Huseby, who left Cablevision in June, joins Barnes & Nobleas it considers separating the Nook unit into a separate companywith the goal of getting investors to give it the higher valuationof a tech company. The company is also considering offering moredetailed financial reporting on the Nook's performance. Huseby waspart of spinning off two Cablevision subsidiaries, the companysaid.

Sales from Barnes & Noble's digital unit, which includesNook tablet computers, content and accessories, rose 38 percent to$542 million in the quarter ended Jan. 28, while total salesadvanced 5 percent to $2.44 billion.

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