GameStop 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

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marketplace. We feel very confident with Rob
in place as our interim CFO.
As we’ve said before, our goal is to be the
go-to destination for every gamer, regardless
of location. In January, we created a
new position to specifically focus on our
international business. As our Executive
Vice President of GameStop International,
Michael Mauler is responsible for the
operational leadership of locations in 15
countries outside of North America. In his
previous role as Senior Vice President of
Supply Chain and International Support,
Mike was instrumental in developing
infrastructure, distribution and online sales
to support our international growth. Chief
Operating Officer Paul Raines continues to
oversee our U.S. and Canadian operations.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE:
GOING DIGITAL
A major step we took last year to keep
us relevant in today’s market was heavily
investing in our digital growth strategy. We
are uniquely positioned to define the multi-
channel strategy for add-on downloadable
content and digital game sales. GameStop
intends to be the video game retail
aggregator of choice by offering customers
access to games through doors, websites
and digital distribution.
Part of our digital strategy included our
November acquisition of a majority stake
in Jolt Online Gaming, an Ireland-based
publisher of free-to-play titles. Acquiring
Jolt allows us to test another new channel
of the growing gamer market – browser
gaming. This business model enables us to
bring under-marketed intellectual property
to market through the GameStop footprint.
To help further our digital strategy, we added
two key industry experts last year.
Shawn Freeman joined us in November in
the newly created position of Senior Vice
President and General Manager of Digital
Business. He is responsible for overseeing
and cultivating GameStop’s digital and
e-commerce business strategy. Shawn has
more than 20 years experience building and
leading online businesses for companies in
a variety of industries, with his most recent
position as part of the senior management
team for Ticketmaster North America.
Shawn works closely with GameStop’s
California-based Digital Ventures group to
maximize the company’s online retail and
digital aggregation business. Key to this
strategy will be transforming our commerce-
based website into a premiere social gaming
platform.
Rounding out the new digital team is Chris
Petrovic, General Manager of the Digital
Ventures group. Chris is responsible for
building upon the ongoing efforts to integrate
digital media into the company’s multi-
channel strategy. He is also responsible for
overseeing the development and execution
of our digital acquisition strategy, including
leveraging the company’s unique and
distinctive relationship with customers in
stores, online and around the globe to drive
digital sales. Before joining GameStop last