Ryan Cohen

Ryan Cohen was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in South Florida where his father ran a glassware importing business. He dropped out of college to pursue entrepreneurship, building websites at age 13 and moving into affiliate marketing as a teenager. In 2011, at age 25, he co-founded MrChewy.com with Michael Day, whom he had met in an internet chat room at age 13. Cohen's defining decision was pivoting from jewelry to pet supplies weeks before launch because he was so much more passionate about this category — a passion that manifested in obsessive customer service, including handwritten condolence cards and 24/7 human support. He served as CEO from 2011 through March 2018, led the company through the $3.35 billion PetSmart acquisition in 2017, and stepped down before the 2019 IPO. He later became known as the meme stock king through his investments in GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond, and was named CEO of GameStop in 2023.

Ryan Cohen is a Canadian-American entrepreneur and investor who founded Chewy in 2011 at age 25. Growing up in South Florida, Cohen learned entrepreneurship from his father, a glassware importer who taught him that the best decisions come from intuition. Cohen dropped out of college to build websites and run affiliate marketing businesses, meeting his future co-founder Michael Day in an internet chat room focused on programming. In 2011, Cohen and Day initially pursued an online jewelry business but pivoted to pet supplies after Cohen realized his personal passion for the category, inspired by his poodle Tylee and a trusted local pet store owner. They launched MrChewy.com from Dania Beach, Florida, with minimal capital and no venture backing. Cohen's leadership was defined by a fanatical commitment to customer service — he insisted on 24/7 phone support with real humans, sent handwritten notes to customers, and personally intervened in customer complaints. This service culture, while expensive, created loyalty that enabled Chewy to outspend competitors on customer acquisition while maintaining industry-leading retention. Revenue grew from $26 million in 2012 to $901 million in 2016. In 2017, Cohen negotiated the $3.35 billion sale to PetSmart, the largest e-commerce acquisition in history at that time. He stepped down as CEO in March 2018 and later built a reputation as an activist investor, acquiring stakes in GameStop, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Nordstrom. In 2023, he was named CEO of GameStop. Forbes estimates his net worth at $3.2 billion.