It was recently revealed that GameStop’s CEO – Matt Furlong – had been ‘terminated’ by the firm, for reasons unknown. In his stead, Ryan Cohen, hailed by many as the pioneer of the meme stock craze that blew up GameStop’s share price a couple of years ago, will assume the role of Executive Chairman.
This news follows a Q1 2023 financial report that revealed falling sales for the retailer, with net sales being down almost $150 million. Recently, GameStop stores have been closing across the board, with almost a complete pull-out from Ireland currently taking place. In 2020, it was highlighted that ‘in the last two years’, almost 800 stores had closed across the United States.
Out With The (Not So) Old
Matt Furlong was in the position of CEO for just two years before being fired by GameStop. In the underwhelming statement released by the company on its newswire, it was revealed that Ryan Cohen, investor and co-founder of a pet food retailer – Chewy – will be assuming the role of Executive Chairman, effective immediately.
There were just a few words reserved for Matt Furlong:
In conjunction, the Company’s former CEO has been terminated.
Reportedly, the firm cancelled a scheduled financial conference that would be used as a platform to discuss the results from Q1 2023. In the hours that followed the financial report’s release, the firm’s stock price plummeted by 20% – which comes just weeks after the price hit an all-time low in the market.
It was in 2021 that Ryan Cohen acquired a 13% stake in GameStop, moving onto the board and driving the ‘meme stock rally’ that became infamous during that same year. There was a massive and monumental boom in the trading of GameStop’s stock and powered by joking investors and gamers around the world, the share price reached a monumental high of $483.
But what goes up must come down, and GameStop has come down in spectacular fashion – and now, the CEO has been terminated.
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