Eight members of GameStop’s board of directors will leave the company after the gaming retailer’s annual meeting in June, according to a new filing.
Why it matters: The “significant changes” will almost totally transform board leadership for a company riding a rollercoaster in the stock market. It also confirms that new board members, led by Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen, will be charting the company’s future.
The scheduled exits, first reported by the Wall Street Journalincluding Reggie Fils-Aimé, who was appointed to the board last March and had previously become a celebrity in the gaming industry as long-time president of Nintendo’s US division.
- Kathy Vrabeck, a former manager at Activision, is also leaving. Her plan to leave was announced in January.
- That will leave the board with much less expertise in the gaming industry.
Between the lines: Cohen has been calling for a shake-up of the company since late last year, pushing for a shift to digital sales.
- In early March, GameStop announced that Cohen would chair a “strategic planning and capital allocation committee” to determine the company’s future. None of the eight outgoing board members was on it.