Ryan Cohen has asked GameStop’s board to remove the performance-based stock award it proposed for him in January scrapping a package that analysts had valued at as much as $35bn if every milestone were hit.
Cohen, who is both chairman and chief executive and draws no salary, said he wanted the company’s leadership focused on its operating performance and its proposed acquisition of eBay.
When the board signed off on the award, GameStop had not yet decided to pursue eBay at all.
The precise framing matters here, because the news has been reported in shorthand that flattens it. Cohen did not walk away from money already in his pocket.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!The award was a proposal, not a grant; it still needed shareholder approval at the annual meeting scheduled for 7 July, and Cohen has now asked the board to pull it from the proxy before that vote.
