GameStop shakeup rolls on, hires Amazon executive as chief growth officer
Reuters
Published Mar 30, 2021 07:05AM ET
Updated Mar 30, 2021 09:45AM ET
(Reuters) - GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) said on Tuesday it named Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) executive Elliott Wilke as chief growth officer, the latest top level appointment after shareholder Ryan Cohen took charge of the video game retailer's e-commerce pivot.
The company's shares, which were at the heart of a Reddit-driven retail trading frenzy early this year, rose nearly 5% in pre-market trading.
GameStop is in the process of shifting its business away from the brick-and-mortar retailer model into an e-commerce business that can compete with large-scale retailers like Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc, as well as technology companies Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Sony Corp (T:6758).
Signaling a broader overhaul, at least two executives have recently departed - Chief Customer Officer Frank Hamlin and Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell.
Wilke, who has spent nearly seven years at Amazon and last led its Fresh Stores business, will oversee growth strategies and marketing at GameStop.
The company had hired another former Amazon executive, Jenna Owens, as Chief Operating Officer earlier this month. She had managed multi-channel fulfillment and distribution at Amazon.
This was preceded by the appointment of Matt Francis as its first ever Chief Technology Officer last month. He was also an Amazon head of the engineering team at Amazon Web Services.
The shakeup proliferated the company's board as it announced the expected retirement of eight directors at its annual meeting this year.
Earlier this month, GameStop had announced the formation of a three-member committee chaired by Ryan Cohen, which is responsible for the moves leading to a re-jigging of the company's leadership.
The company on Tuesday also named former Chewy (NYSE:CHWY).com executives Andrea Wolfe and Tom Peterson to lead brand development and merchandising, respectively.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.