This Company's CEO Agrees To Work On Zero Salary. Here's Why

American video game and gaming merchandise retailer GameStop recently announced Ryan Cohen as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. The company said in a release that he would not receive any compensation.

In his first email as the CEO titled "Survival", Mr Cohen told the employees that he would ensure the struggling video game retailer survives."Our job is to make sure GameStop is here for decades to come," he wrote in the email obtained by CNBC. "Extreme frugality is required. Every expense at the company must be scrutinized under a microscope and all waste eliminated. The company has no use for delegators and money wasters. I expect everyone to treat company money like their own and lead by example," he added. 

"Prospering in retail means survival. If we survive, we stay in the game. Survival is avoiding the deadly sins that often lead retailers to self-destruct. This is usually a result of the following - buying bad inventory, using leverage, and running expenses too high. By avoiding these self-inflicted mistakes and focusing on the basics, GameStop can be here for a long time. I expect everyone to roll up their sleeves and work hard. I'm not getting paid, so I'm either going down with the ship or turning the company around. I much prefer the latter," he concluded. 

According to the outlet, the new CEO of the company was previously the executive chair of GameStop. His company, RC Ventures was the company's largest shareholder with a 12.09 per cent stake as of late June. 

Mr Cohen replaces former Amazon executive Matt Furlong as GameStop's third CEO in the past two years. Since the middle of the 2010s, when internet gaming and sales of video games began to outpace brick-and-mortar video game stores, GameStop has been experiencing difficulties and investors have put their hopes for a turnaround on Mr Cohen's plan, according to Forbes.