The leadership in charge of Electronic Arts is getting a bit of a remix. No one is leaving one of those top positions, but chief executive officer Andrew Wilson is putting people into new roles and bringing on at least one new face.
“I’m a big believer in having the courage to change, especially in service of our players and our future,” Wilson wrote in a blog post. “To that end, we have aligned on several strategic organizational changes that will sharpen focus on the creative core of EA, drive precision in our operations, and define clear leadership for our growth initiatives.”
I admit my business-jargon is a little rusty, but I think all of that translates to: “EA make the good games.”
Here’s what’s changing:
- Patrick Söderlund, who was previously the executive vice president in charge of EA’s studios, is getting a promotion to chief design officer.
- Laura Miele is stepping into the newly created role of chief studios officer that will have some of Söderlund’s old responsibilities.
- Blake Jorgensen, who was already the chief financial officer, is now also EA’s chief operating officer.
- Chris Bruzzo is getting an expanded marketing and analytics team as chief marketing officer.
- And Matt Bilbey is moving up EA’s business team to the executive vice president of strategic growth.
The rest of the executive team will remain in place.
EA, like the rest of the industry, is preparing for E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show) in Los Angeles in June. That event will give the company to show off its upcoming products including the anticipated and strategically important BioWare online shooter Anthem. But more importantly, EA has started putting the Star Wars: Battlefront II debacle behind it with a new progression and microtransaction systems, and Wilson wants this executive team to help figure out how to prepare the publisher for a rapidly changing business.
“The industry is going to change more in the next five years than it has in the last 45 years,” EA chief technology officer Ken Moss said at the GamesBeat Summit earlier this week.
And Wilson repeated that in his remarks in the EA blog.
“We must position ourselves for continued transformation and leadership,” said Wilson. “This is a world in which the gaming audience can grow to nearly half the world’s population. Where games must deliver endless fun, value, and choice to any platform, anywhere. Where play becomes increasingly personal, contextual and dynamic. And in this world, creativity will drive everything, from content to competition to communities.”
To help with the translation again, Wilson is saying, “I want to make the next Fortnite.”