A man speaks in front of GameStop in 6th Avenue on February 25, 2021 in New York.
John Smith | Corbis News | Getty Images
Shares in GameStop rose 11% in pre-trading after the company announced on Monday that it had appointed Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen to lead its move to e-commerce.
Cohen serves as chairman of a special committee set up by GameStop’s board to help transform it. Board members Alan Attal, former CEO of Chewy, and Kurt Wolf, chief investment officer of Hestia Capital Management, also serve on the committee.
Cohen invested in GameStop last year to push the company to focus on online sales and turn away from physical stores. Its involvement in the company sparked the wild ride of the stock earlier this year. Shares of GameStop have risen more than 700% so far in 2021, giving the company a market value of $ 10.6 billion.
The committee has already appointed a chief technology officer, hired two executives to lead customer services and e-commerce, and launched a search for a new chief financial officer with technological or e-commerce experience. GameStop announced earlier that the current chief financial officer, Jim Bell, will resign on March 26. Referring to sources familiar with the matter, Business Insider reported that Bell was evicted by Cohen.
The new committee also appointed Attal as chairman of the board’s nomination and corporate governance committee and Wolf as chairman of the board’s remuneration committee. Its responsibilities include evaluating GameStop’s operational objectives, capital structure and award priorities, digital capabilities, organizational footprint and staff.