GameStop is undergoing a big management shake-up, with CEO George Sherman stepping down on or before July 31.
GameStop Corp’s George Sherman will step down as chief executive in the video game retailer’s biggest shake-up, giving top shareholder Ryan Cohen more influence as he leads the company’s e-commerce transition.
The company’s shares, which were at the heart of a Reddit-driven trading frenzy, jumped 9 percent in pre-market trading on Monday after GameStop said Sherman resigned on or before July 31 and began searching for a replacement.
Reuters had previously announced that GameStop’s board was working on the CEO quest with an executive headhunter and that its directors had spoken to potential gaming, e-commerce, and technology candidates.
GameStop also said Sherman had declined to accept compensation for his position as director, both before and after the separation date, and had decided to cancel his restrained stock award 2020.
Sherman has forfeited over 587,000 shares for failing to reach his performance expectations, a regulatory filing showed last week.
Sherman’s decision to step down comes as co-founder and former CEO of online pet food company Chewy Inc. Ryan Cohen tighten his hold on GameStop since taking over as chairman earlier this month. According to Refinitiv numbers, Cohen’s RC Ventures owns nearly 13% of GameStop.
Former CFO of GameStop, Jim Bell, and former Customer Leader, Frank Hamlin, are among the senior executives who have quit the company in recent weeks.
GameStop has been transforming itself into an e-commerce company that can compete with major retailers like Walmart Inc, and technology firms like Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp.
Separately, Bloomberg announced that the man known as “Roaring Kitty” on social media, whose online posts helped ignite January’s GameStop trading frenzy, exercised stock call options to buy 50,000 more shares at a $12 strike price.
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