GameStop to name Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen as chairman

GameStop continues to remake its leadership as part of its digital transformation push.

The video game retailer announced that Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy and manager of activist investor RC Ventures, will become chairman following the company’s annual shareholders meeting on June 9.  Cohen was appointed to the board in January after GameStop reached an agreement with RC Ventures, one of the retailer’s largest investors.

Cohen, who sold Chewy for $3.35 billion to PetSmart in 2017, has been pushing for GameStop to focus on online sales and trim its store portfolio. He currently leads a strategy team that is focused  on “identifying actions that can transform GameStop into a technology business and help create enduring value for stockholders.” 

The committee, which was formed in March, has made several key appointments, including tapping Matt Francis to the newly-created role of chief technology officer. Most recently, he was an engineering leader at Amazon Web Services. Other recent hires include former executives from Chewy, QVC and Walmart. The chain is also searching for a new CFO “with relevant technology and/or e-commerce experience.” 

GameStop announced that other new board nominees include Larry Cheng, co-founder and managing partner of Volition Capital, and the first investor in Chewy, and  Yang Xu, senior VP of global finance and treasury at The Kraft Heinz Company. Current board members Alan Attal and CEO George Sherman are being re-nominated.