GameStop shares rally as CEO heads for door
The head of GameStop is on his way out the door in a big management shake-up at the struggling gaming retailer.
CEO George Sherman will step down on or before July 31, the company said Monday, in the latest twist in the company’s attempt at a turnaround.
His exit paves the way for top shareholder Ryan Cohen to have even more control as he looks to transform GameStop from a brick-and-mortar retailer to an e-commerce contender.
Cohen, who rose to fame as co-founder and former CEO of online pet company Chewy, became chairman of the GameStop board earlier this month – but has yet to detail his transformation plan.
Other top executives including the chief financial officer and the chief customer officer have departed in recent weeks.
GameStop on Monday also confirmed that the search for a new CEO has already begun.
Reuters reported exclusively last week that the company had hired an executive search firm and board members had spoken to potential candidates for the top job.
The news of the shake-up at the top of the so-called meme stock - sent the stock up more than 11 percent early Monday - a modest rally compared to the trading frenzy seen earlier this year - when GameStop became the center of a battle between deep-pocketed Wall Street hedge funds and investors pumped up by posts on Reddit forum WallStreetBets.
Investors that have been able to stomach huge swings in the stock are getting paid handsomely - the stock is up more than 3,000 percent over the past year.
