Dave & Buster's Names New COO and CAO, Reshapes Entire C-Suite
PLAY is trading near its 52-week low of $6.45 (4.3% above the low).
Summary
Dave & Buster's announced a sweeping executive leadership overhaul, appointing a new COO and CAO plus four other C-suite roles, as the company works to reverse declining sales and a recent quarterly loss.
Key Events · Executive and Board Changes · PLAY
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New COO and CAO Appointed
Amanda Busby has been named Chief Operations Officer with a $450,000 base salary and 70% target bonus, while Derek Sample takes the Chief Accounting Officer role with a $315,000 base salary and 50% target bonus.
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Equity Grants Tied to Stock Recovery
Busby received 72,464 RSUs, options on 74,294 shares at an $8.97 strike, and 55,741 PSUs; Sample received 39,019 RSUs, options on 52,006 shares at $8.97, and 39,019 PSUs. The options vest only if the stock reaches specified multiples of the $8.97 exercise price by August 31, 2029.
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Full C-Suite Reshuffle
Additional appointments include Jeremy Tucker as CMO, Kevin Fish as CTO/CDO, Rachel Morgan as CLO/CAO, and Aldo Rosales as Chief Strategy & Revenue Management Officer.
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Follows CEO Transition and Q2 Loss
These appointments come weeks after CFO Darin Harper was named CEO on August 3, 2026, and days after the company reported a $12.5 million Q2 net loss with comparable store sales down 2.9%.
Analysis · PLAY · Trade & Services
A top-to-bottom executive rebuild is underway at Dave & Buster's. Amanda Busby has been appointed Chief Operations Officer and Derek Sample Chief Accounting Officer, alongside four additional C-suite hires and promotions. The moves come just weeks after CFO Darin Harper was elevated to CEO following Tarun Lal's retirement, and days after the company reported a $12.5 million Q2 net loss with comparable store sales down 2.9%. The new leadership team is being assembled to execute a 'Back-to-Basics' strategy aimed at reversing the sales decline. Notably, the equity grants — including options struck at $8.97, well above the current $6.73 share price — tie executive pay to a meaningful stock recovery.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Sep 30, 2026, 29.6% of the 1615 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.57%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
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At the time of this filing, PLAY was trading at $6.73 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $234.2M. The 52-week trading range was $6.45 to $22.10. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.