- Ryan Cohen, already GameStop’s chairman, is now the company’s CEO.
- The move comes more than three months after GameStop fired then-CEO Matthew Furlong.
- GameStop shares jumped following the announcement.
GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen.
Source: CNBC
GameStop announced Thursday morning that billionaire activist investor Ryan Cohen would take over as CEO of the video game retailer.
Following the announcement, shares of the company rose nearly 10% in premarket trading. GameStop was part of the meme stock boom of 2020 and 2021.
GameStop said Cohen will not receive compensation for his work as the company’s CEO, president and chairman.
The move comes more than three months after GameStop fired CEO Matthew Furlong and named Cohen executive chairman. At the time, GameStop did not give a reason for the dismissal.
Cohen, who founded Chewy and became known as the “king” of meme stocks, bought a stake in GameStop in 2020 and joined the board in 2021 – at the height of the meme phenomenon.
Since then, the company has shown little sign of a turnaround, albeit with a few exceptions. Earlier this month, GameStop reported its second-quarter financial results, reporting a narrower loss than a year ago and a slight increase in revenue.
Read the press release here.