EA's CEO role filled by former EA Sports boss Andrew Wilson
Were you expecting Moore?
Back in March EA's CEO John Riccitiello stepped down, leading the coveted position open for all to vie for in a Game of Thrones-esque situation, only with ostensibly less murder and dragons (but not less Dragon Age).
Now, a ruler has been chosen in the form of former EA Sports boss Andrew Wilson. This may seem like an odd choice as EA's hand of the CEO, i.e. chief operating officer Peter Moore, seemed poised to take Riccitiello's role, but for whatever reason, that didn't happen. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Wilson has been at the company for 13 years, whereas Moore didn't join up until 2007.
"Let me start by saying I am deeply honored and humbled to become EA's CEO," wrote Wilson in a blog post announcing his new role. "I have a profound respect and passion for this organisation, as well as for our global community of fans, and I'm incredibly motivated to serve our people, our gamers and our shareholders at such an exciting time in our industry."
It doesn't sound like the newly appointed chairman will make any brash moves right away as he noted, "I also believe EA's strategy is sound. Our focus on our talent, our brands and our platform together with our investment in next-generation consoles, mobile and PC free-to-play, as part of our ongoing transition to digital, is right."
Wilson noted that as CEO his three main priorities will be "continued transformation for our digital future", "Delivering amazing games and services across platforms", and "Instilling a culture of execution that will drive profitable growth." In other words, he plans to turn money into more money.
Speaking of money, a new investors report noted that Wilson's new salary is $800K a year with the chance to make 150 per cent of that (i.e. $1.2 million) if he meets certain bonus requirements. Good lord!