GamezineMag - GameStop CEO Getting a Large Bonus Upon Quitting, for News, Publishing, and Educational Purposes in Games Development

 

Credit: Game Rant

GameStop's CEO will be leaving the company this summer but not without receiving an enormous bonus. GameStop CEO George Sherman, because of his large amount of stock, is looking at a $179 million payout at the end of his tenure, according to Reuters.
As part of incoming Chairman of the Board Ryan Cohen's vision of change for the company, Sherman is set to leave his position by April 19th. GameStop has been undergoing dramatic leadership changes over the past year and this is the latest executive change the company has made.

Cohen and the Board of Directors' are looking for a replacement at the moment and if a successor can be found before the deadline then Sherman will be out even sooner. But regardless of date, the CEO is looking at a large payout because of the incredible rise in the company's stock price over the past few months. Reuters reports that GameStop granted him shares based on tenure rather than performance and decided to give him stock in place of some of his pay last year. What once was a $5 stock as of a year ago is now valued at $154 per share as of April 22 thus explaining the huge payout.

This figure is especially large considering that Sherman already forfeited another almost $100 million in stock because he did not meet performance goals. The main reason why this payout is so large is due to the subreddit called r/wallstreetbets and its campaign to purchase GameStop stock. The subreddit's goal was to hurt the short sellers community and the results have been a skyrocketing GameStop stock price and now a huge payout for Sherman.
Such strange circumstances were definitely not foreseen by the executives within GameStop who gave Sherman more stocks. Payouts like this usually evoke envy and bemusement and honestly that is a fair response but Sherman isn't to blame. His tenure by all reports was relatively successful considering the trials and tribulations he had to face because of the pandemic and he already gave up nearly $100 million to pay for any shortcomings. He just happens to be the biggest winner out of the r/wallstreetbets saga despite not really playing any part.
But it is always strange to see someone get an obscene amount of money upon leaving their position. That amount of money would probably be better served elsewhere in the company but it is by right all Sherman's. Either way, GameStop fans best hope that the new vision for the company is a successful one and the transition works well.