GameStop grabs a new CEO and CFO from Amazon, and a board chair from Chewy.com

By Mark Sullivan

June 09, 2021

GameStop, the company at the center of the retail investor revolt against Wall Street traders in January, says ahead of its first-quarter earnings report that it has appointed two ex-Amazon execs as chief executive officer and the new chief financial officer.

The new CEO, Matt Furlong, and the new CFO, Mike Recupero, each “oversaw various growth initiatives during their respective tenures” at Amazon, GameStop said Wednesday. Furlong starts June 21, and Recupero starts July 12.

Furlong most recently oversaw significant growth in Amazon’s Australia business, and previously was a technical adviser to the head of Amazon’s North America consumer business.

Recupero recently served as CFO of Amazon’s North American consumer business after serving as CFO of the Prime Video business.

GameStop reported positive earnings Wednesday, reporting lighter than expected losses ($0.45 vs. $0.84, estimated), and higher than expected revenue ($1.3 billion vs. $1.16 billion, estimated). But its stock fell 4% in after-hours trading.

GameStop is a brick-and-mortar video-game retailer that’s trying to reinvent itself as an online retailer, hence its interest in pulling Amazon talent into its leadership team. Furlong and Recupero aren’t the first. GameStop has hired three other Amazon vets in recent months. These include Jenna Owens as chief operating officer, Matt Francis as chief technology officer, and Elliott Wilke as chief growth officer.

Earlier Wednesday, the company named Ryan Cohen, the cofounder of pet retailer Chewy, as its new chairman of the board.

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