Former Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aimé to fill seat on GameStop board

[Cal Jeffrey]

What just happened? GameStop appointed Nintendo veteran Reggie Fils-Aimé to its board of directors. Fils-Aimé will take the position almost exactly one year after he retired as president of Nintendo of America. The company has also tapped two other executives in an apparent attempt to reinvigorate its struggling brand.

Two other execs were appointed as well. Former Walmart President Bill Simon and PetSmart CEO J.K. Symncyk will fill board positions effective immediately, while Fil-Aimé will step in on April 20, just a year and five days after he retired from Nintendo.

A total of six directors are stepping down from the board. Four will retire in June of this year, and two others will leave in June 2021. The shakeup appears to be part of an effort to reinvigorate the board of directors in light of the new tenure “Committee refreshment” guidelines the company is establishing.

“The Board refreshment and governance enhancements announced today represent an important milestone in GameStop’s transformation as we continue to evolve the Company’s business strategy for long-term success,” said GameStop CEO George Sherman.

Under the new board governance, the median director tenure will be one year. Previously, median tenure was eight years. From now on, independent directors will serve no longer than 10 years. Additionally, Board Committee members and chairs will rotate every five years.

GameStop first started realizing its troubles in 2014 as digital games sales began to take hold of the market, and the company has floundered for the last couple of years. After reporting record losses for 2018, the brick-and-mortar store chain has cut costs and implemented new ideas to attract customers. Most recently, GameStop laid off 14 percent of its workforce as its stock tumbled to a record low.

In a tweet on Monday, Fils-Aime seemed enthusiastic at the prospect of helping lift GameStop from its slump.

“The gaming industry needs a healthy and vibrant GameStop,” the former exec said. “I look forward to being a part of [the] Board and helping to make this happen.”

Masthead credit: Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock, Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon via Getty Images

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https://www.techspot.com/news/84336-former-nintendo-president-reggie-fils-aim-fill-seat.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Well, he certainly picked one heck of a challenge!

 

[winjer]

It's like joining the Titanic after hitting the iceberg.

 

[redgarl]

If someone can turn around that company, that would be this guy.

 

[kira setsu]

Close alot of the stores

not being a jerk but there's too many gamestops, within 6 miles of my apt there are 5, maybe 6 gamestops and that makes no sense, they're not even located in great spots, they dwell in old strip malls or sit near another store that wont nag you about preorders.

consolidate them down and it would help alot imho, people would have a bigger and fuller store to browse through instead of multiples that have their stock all split up.

 

[jpuroila]

"Under the new board governance, the median director tenure will be one year. Previously, median tenure was eight years. From now on, independent directors will serve no longer than 10 years. Additionally, Board Committee members and chairs will rotate every five years."

Seems like a terrific way of encouraging decisions that will benefit the company in the short term and bite it in the *** later.