Video game retailer GameStop (GME) has named activist investor Ryan Cohen its new chief executive officer (CEO) effective immediately.
Shares of the company rose 10% on news of Cohen’s appointment as CEO.
GameStop said that Cohen, who is already on the company’s board of directors, won’t receive any compensation for his expanded role as CEO, president, and executive chairman.
The appointment of Cohen as CEO comes after GameStop fired former CEO Matthew Furlong in June of this year. GameStop didn’t provide a reason for Furlong’s firing.
Cohen, who made billions from founding online pet retailer Chewy (CHWY), first took a stake in GameStop in 2020 and joined the company’s board in 2021.
Despite Cohen’s involvement, GameStop has not succeeded in efforts aimed at turning around its struggling business and becoming “the Amazon of gaming.”
GameStop has also been a popular “meme stock” among retail investors, and Cohen has been called the “king of meme stocks.”
A movie about GameStop and the meme stock frenzy of 2021 called “Dumb Money” was released in theatres earlier this month (September).
GameStop’s share price has declined 37% over the last 12 months and now trades at $17.15 U.S. per share.
