(Reuters) – GameStop Corp is looking for a new chief executive to replace George Sherman as the pivot of being a video game retailer for an e-commerce firm, three people familiar with the matter said on Monday .
It would be GameStop’s biggest shakeup since Ryan Cohen, co-founder and former CEO of online pet food company Chewy Inc., joined its board in January. Its shares have risen by almost 4,000% from a year ago, after it became the poster child of retailers betting on so-called “meme” shares.
GameStop’s board of directors is working with an executive director to look for the CEO, sources said, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Several GameStop board executives are involved in the search and have talked to potential candidates in the gaming industry as well as the e-commerce and technology sectors, sources said.
A GameStop spokesman declined to comment.
GameStop shares traded up 12% to $ 138.75 in Monday afternoon trading, giving the company a market value of about $ 10 billion.
The replacement of the CEO is the latest in a series of changes that Cohen has been following since joining GameStop. Former CFO Jim Bell and client manager Frank Hamlin are among the top executives who have left the company in recent weeks.
George Sherman, who has been CEO since April 2019, was credited internally with reducing costs and leading GameStop through the COVID-19 pandemic that caused many retailers to give up business.
But Cohen and other GameStop board members believe Sherman’s 25 years of experience are primarily with retailers such as Advance Auto Parts Inc. and Home Depot Inc.
Cohen, who last week was named chairman of GameStop’s board of directors, is trying to make the company the favorite online destination for video game fans, just as Chewy has conquered pet lovers.
He has applied for a number of GameStop jobs, including Elliott Wilke as Director of Growth, Jenna Owens as Chief Operating Officer and Matt Francis as Chief Technology Officer. All three have previously worked at Amazon.com Inc.
Cohen also brought in people from Chewy, including Andrea Wolfe as vice president of brand development, Neda Pacifico as senior vice president of e-commerce and Kelli Durkin as senior vice president of customer support.
Report by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Edited by Dan Grebler