An impressive list of executive superstars has joined the C-suite roster of GameStop Corp. GME. The new appointments should help build confidence in the company as it pivots to a digitally-driven business.
The news was welcomed by the r/wallstreetbets community on Reddit, who have been eagerly awaiting a C-Suite shakeup.
r/wallstreetbets is predicting Ryan Cohen to take the CEO position
In the lead-up to GameStop’s earnings report last week, online speculation was rife that activist board member Ryan Cohen would be ascending to the CEO’s role. The hope was that Cohen would then implement sweeping and radical changes.
One radical change postulated was that Cohen could implement a 10x share split. The rationale behind this move would be to lower each share’s price to allow poorer retail investors to participate in purchasing GameStop stock. The theory being this is that demand would lift, and with it, the price. None of the online speculations eventuated in what might have been the most watch earnings call in history. The stock price plummeted the next day, but it has since regained its pre-earnings call level.
GME closed at $186 at the end of Monday trading, rebounding sharply from it's decline after it announced a 3.5 million share offering. It appears investors have been playing a waiting game for the past couple of weeks. Uncertainty in the price is possibly waning, and a return to the stable daily movements shown from Feb 8 to 24 might be seen moving forward.
The New Kids On The Board
Cohen, the former CEO and founder of Chewy Inc CHWY, has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the current GameStop Board and has a lot of sway within the company and investors. He holds 12.9% of the total float of GME and is heading the company’s strategic review.
Two weeks agp, a total of eight board members gave notice that they would be exiting the company in June. Cohen wasted no time in replacing them. The biggest catch for GameStop is Elliot Wilke, a former executive at Amazon. At GameStop, Wilke will be taking up the role of Chief Growth Officer, an essential office for driving the brand’s transformation.
Two former high-performing Chewy.com executives are also set to join the GameStop Board, replacing those exiting. Andrea Wolfe and Tom Petersen are taking up vice president positions in brand development and merchandising, respectively.
With the C-suite shakeup, instigated at the behest of Cohen, it is not so farfetched to speculate that the Board is priming to announce Cohen as CEO in the very near future. Whether he will instigate any of the radical changes bandied about online is up for further speculation.
Benzinga's Related Links:
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
