For the second time in less than half a year, GameStop has a new interim CEO. What happened to the last one, you ask? The now former CEO, Michael K. Mauler, has abruptly stepped down from the position citing “personal reasons,” despite only being appointed to the position three months ago.
In his place, Daniel A. DeMatteo, who has worked as an executive at GameStop since 1996, will serve as interim CEO. Interestingly, this will also be the second time in less than half a year that he will hold this position, as this was what he was doing earlier this year when former CEO J. Paul Raines’ health impeded his ability to work at the retailer. It was then in February when Raines made it clear that he would be unable to return at all, that DeMatteo stepped down and Mauler took his place.
In its announcement, Gamestop didn’t go into further detail about the reasons for Mauler’s sudden resignation, but a statement from DeMatteo does indicate that the company shouldn’t be too affected by it:
“Given my tenure and familiarity with the company and our associates, it’s a natural step for me to assume this role and guide the business at this time while the board searches for a permanent CEO. I’m happy to have Rob Lloyd, our CFO, and his 22 years of experience with GameStop alongside me as we work towards executing against our 2018 objectives. We continue to believe in GameStop and the many passionate associates that drive our business and are encouraged by the opportunities ahead of us.”
Despite such positivity, this incident does come at an uncertain time for the world’s largest game-focused retailer. Back in March, the company reported positive growth for its fiscal Q4 due in part to strong sales of the Nintendo Switch and its software, but it also predicted same store sales would drop by 5 percent in fiscal 2018.
