A man talks to his phone in front of GameStop on 6th Avenue on Feb. 25, 2021 in New York.
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Shares of GameStop were up 11% in premarket trading after the company announced on Monday that it had engaged Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen to lead the shift to ecommerce.
Cohen chairs a special committee formed by the GameStop board to help the transformation. Board members Alan Attal, Chewy’s former top operations manager, and Kurt Wolf, Hestia Capital Management’s chief investment officer, are also on the committee.
Cohen invested in GameStop last year to push the company to focus on online sales and move away from brick-and-mortar stores. His involvement with the company helped fuel the stock’s wild ride earlier this year. Shares of GameStop are up more than 700% so far in 2021, putting the company at a market value of $ 10.6 billion.
The committee has already appointed a chief technology officer, hired two executives to lead customer service and e-commerce fulfillment, and is looking for a new chief financial officer with tech or e-commerce experience. GameStop previously announced that current CFO Jim Bell will step down on March 26. Citing sources familiar with the case, Business Insider reported that Bell was pushed out 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. Her responsibilities include evaluating GameStop’s operational objectives, capital structure and allocation priorities, digital capabilities, organizational footprint and human resources.