GameStop rallies as Chewy founder Ryan Cohen tasked with leading e-commerce shift

GameStop Corp. shares rallied Monday on confirmation Ryan Cohen, founder of online pet food supplier Chewy Inc., will lead the company’s transformation to an e-commerce based model.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
GME	GAMESTOP CORP.	11.90	+0.69	+6.16%

Cohen will chair a special committee that will identify initiatives to speed up the transformation. Other committee members include former Chewy operations executive Alan Attal and Hestia Capital Management Chief Investment Officer Kurt Wolf.

GAMESTOP CFO JIM BELL DEPARTING

The committee, which has already announced the appointment of a handful of executives, including a chief technology officer, is currently searching for a new chief financial officer following the announcement that Jim Bell will exit the position at the end of the month.

YELLEN SEEKS ANSWERS ON GAMESTOP TRADING FRENZY

RC Ventures, Cohen’s investment firm, has amassed an approximately 13% stake in GameStop with the goal of transforming the company into a major e-commerce player that sells a wide variety of merchandise with fast shipping. He is the largest individual shareholder.

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GameStop shares soared by as much as 1,641% to $347.51 from Jan. 12 through Jan. 27 as traders on the WallStreetBets message board on Reddit banded together to squeeze short-sellers.

Shares settled at $137.74 apiece on Friday and were up 631% this year.