A man speaks on his phone in front of GameStop on 6th Avenue on February 25, 2021 in New York City.
John Smith | Corbis News | Getty Images
GameStop shares jumped 11% in premarket trading after the company announced Monday that it had taken advantage of Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen to lead its shift toward e-commerce.
Cohen serves as chair of a special committee formed by the GameStop board to help with its transformation. Board members Alan Attal, former chief operating officer of Chewy, and Kurt Wolf, chief investment officer of Hestia Capital Management, are also on the committee.
Cohen invested in GameStop last year to push the company to focus on online sales and move away from physical stores. His involvement with the company helped spark the savage onslaught of stocks earlier this year. GameStop shares 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 direct customer service and e-commerce compliance, and has begun looking for a new chief financial officer with experience in technology or e-commerce. GameStop previously announced that current CFO Jim Bell will resign on March 26th. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Business Insider reported that Cohen was expelled from Bell.
The new committee has also appointed Attal as chairman of the board’s corporate appointment and governance committee and Wolf as chairman of the board’s compensation committee.
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