After more than 15 years of service with the company, Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime has announced that he will be retiring this coming April. With Reggie Fils-Aime retiring, the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Doug Bowser will succeed him when he steps down on April 15.
“Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever,” Fils-Aime said in a statement. “It’s a part that is filled with gratitude – for the incredibly talented people I’ve worked with, for the opportunity to represent such a wonderful brand, and most of all, to feel like a member of the world’s most positive and enduring gamer community. As I look forward to departing in both good health and good humor, this is not ‘game over’ for me, but instead ‘leveling up’ to more time with my wife, family and friends.”
Reggie started at Nintendo of America in 2003 as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and became the company’s president and COO in May 2006, meaning he will have been in the role 13 years at the time of his retirement. He became popular with Nintendo fans due to his ability to poke fun at himself and have fun in the role, creating such meme-worthy comments such as “my body is ready” and “I feel just like a purple Pikmin.”
He also recorded a video where he directly spoke to Nintendo fans regarding his choice to retire, and he thanks them for their support and “a mushroom kingdom full of incredible memories.”
Nintendo fans, Reggie has a message for all of you. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/EAhaEl5oEJ
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 21, 2019
Doug Bowser joined Nintendo of America in May 2015 as Vice President of Sales, and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2016. Other than having a fantastic name, he also led the sales and marketing efforts for Nintendo Switch, which helped make Nintendo’s new system the fastest-selling console of this hardware generation, and a great turnaround after the Wii U.
“It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America,” said Bowser. “And rest assured, we will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendo’s global mission of creating smiles. There are millions more of those to come.”
[Image Source: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]
