GameStop CEO George Sherman confirms he will leave this summer, following a wild few months and a series of exec departures

• George Sherman is leaving GameStop after two years as CEO, it announced Monday.
• It's part of a major shakeup of the company following activist investor Ryan Cohen joining its board.
• Sherman would leave on or before July 31, GameStop said.

George Sherman is stepping down as GameStop CEO this summer, the video-games retailer announced Monday.

GameStop said Sherman would leave the role on July 31, or earlier if it appoints his successor before then.

Activist investor Ryan Cohen joined the company's board in January, leading to a major executive shakeup at the ailing retailer, Insider's Ben Gilbert reported.

Since Cohen got involved, every GameStop executive bar Sherman has left.

Jim Bell, the company's CFO, left in February. Sources told Insider that he was pushed to resign by the company's board.

CCO Frank Hamlin resigned in March.

The company said in its annual report in March that its board had been its evaluating executive leadership alongside a third-party firm to help the company "meet changing business requirements."

In a statement Monday, Cohen praised Sherman's "valuable leadership" during his two years as CEO and said that he "took many decisive steps to stabilize the business during challenging times."

He also thanked Sherman for forming "important partnerships" with the company's new directors and executives.

Sherman said he was proud of GameStop's achievements, including driving e-commerce growth and reducing costs and debt. He thanked the company's board and added that it was a "privilege to lead so many dedicated, talented individuals."

Sherman joined the company as CEO in April 2019 after working in leadership roles for retail brands including Advance Auto Parts, Best Buy, Target, and Home Depot.

GameStop's shares were up 6% in pre-market trading on Monday.

GameStop stock soared in 2021

GameStop hit the headlines in January after day traders banded together on Reddit to bump up the prices of several "meme" stocks after noticing that hedge funds were betting against them.

This caused GameStop stock to jump massively - from below $5 late last year to a peak of more than $450 a share in late January.

As a result, some of Wall Street's prominent hedge funds were forced to close their bearish bets against Gamestop, with hefty losses.