GameStop just named an Amazon alum as its new CEO, the latest in a string of executive appointments hailing from the e-commerce giant

• GameStop just hired a new CEO: Matt Furlong, a former senior leader at Amazon.
• GameStop has reshaped its executive suite around former Amazon leaders.
• The charge is being led by newly appointed GameStop board chairman and Chewy cofounder Ryan Cohen.

The world's biggest video game retailer just appointed a new chief executive officer: Former Amazon executive Matt Furlong is taking over as CEO of GameStop, the company announced on Wednesday.

Furlong is joined by another former Amazonian in Mike Recupero, who is taking over as chief financial officer.

The two new top executives are part of a fully revamped c-suite that includes chief growth officer Elliott Wilke, who oversaw a variety of initiatives at Amazon, former Amazon fulfillment director Jenna Owens (COO), and former Amazon Web Services engineering lead Matt Francis (CTO). Furlong most recently oversaw Amazon's Australia operations and Recupero was CFO of the North American consumer business.

The new executive team made up entirely of former Amazon leaders fits right in with the long-term plans of newly-elected board chairman and activist investor Ryan Cohen.

Cohen is spearheading a company-wide "transformation" at the ailing retailer which is intended to turn GameStop into the "Amazon of gaming." To do that, he's spent months slowly replacing leadership.

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Cohen, who cofounded Chewy and acted as CEO before it sold to PetSmart for $3.35 billion in 2017, does not have a background in the video game industry. His claim to fame is outfoxing Amazon at its own game - e-commerce - in a specific category: pets. That's an especially meaningful claim to fame when it comes to Wall Street, which saw Cohen's involvement in the company as a reason to buy the ailing retailer's stock before Reddit found it.

As GameStop's stock value rocketed north of $400 earlier this year, the company barely acknowledged the stock value explosion and Cohen declined requests for interviews.

"Moving forward, we want you to judge GameStop based on our actions - not our words," Cohen told shareholders during the company's annual meeting on Wednesday, where he was elected chairman of the board, according to a representative. "As my dad would say, buckle up."

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