GameStop Creates CTO Position, Hires Former Amazon, Chewy Execs

GameStop Corp. GME announced Wednesday Matt Francis will serve as the company's first-ever chief technology officer.

Who Is Francis? Francis was appointed to GameStop's newly-created role and he brings more than decades worth of experience in e-commerce and consumer technology to GameStop, the company said in a press release. He will be tasked with overseeing GameStop's digital business and technology functions.

He joins GameStop from Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, where he was an engineering leader at its AWS cloud business. Prior to Amazon, Francis held senior-level technology roles at QVC and Zulily.

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Shares of GameStop were higher by around 25% early Wednesday morning, but gave up more than half those gains and were trading higher by just 1% at $90.50 at publication time.

Absent from GameStop's announcement was any commentary on the massive volatility in the stock over recent weeks.

Two Executive Hires: GameStop simultaneously announced two new executive hires.

Keli Durkin is leaving her post as Chewy's CHWY Vice President of Customer Service and will oversee all customer service and engagement initiatives at GameStop as of March 1. Josh Krueger, another Amazon veteran, will oversee GameStop's management of its e-commerce fulfillment centers.

Chewy Co-Founder Ryan Cohen joined GameStop's board of directors last September.

Photo by Dwight Burdette via Wikimedia