GameStop CEO Michael Mauler has left the company “for personal reasons, effective immediately,” according to a company announcement made Friday.
Mauler’s tenure at the top of the videogame retailer was abnormally short. He had been with the company for 16 years before he was appointed to the position in February after former CEO J. Paul Raines stepped down for health reasons in 2017. GameStop did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Mauler’s exit.
GameStop co-founder and executive chairman of the company’s board of directors Daniel DeMatteo will take over as interim CEO for the second time in less than a year as the company searches for a new CEO. “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,” said DeMatteo in a statement.
The unexpected exit of the company’s CEO comes at an inopportune time, as the retailer’s 2018 sales projections signaled a downswing from their 2017 growth. Mauler’s exit was labeled as “disruptive” by Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. “Investors like stability and continuity and GameStop is anything but … [Mauler’s exit] will cause investor concern,” Pachter told the Wall Street Journal.