John Riccitiello
Encyclopedia
John Riccitiello is the CEO
of Electronic Arts
(EA).
He received his Bachelors of Science
degree from the Haas School of Business
at the University of California, Berkeley
.
He then worked in a variety of consumer product companies including The Clorox Company (Brand Manager), PepsiCo
(Group Marketing Director), Häagen-Dazs
International (Managing Director), Wilson Sporting Goods
(President and Chief Executive Officer), and Sara Lee Corporation (President and Chief Executive Officer, Bakery Division).
From October 1997 through April 2004, Riccitiello became President and Chief Operating Officer
of Electronic Arts. He then left EA and co-founded Elevation Partners
, where Riccitiello served as Managing Director. In 2007
, Riccitiello was re-hired by EA, this time to serve as CEO. He currently serves on the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and on the Board of Directors of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Riccitello has been credited with diversifying Electronic Arts' business model, and leading the company's shift from consumer packaged goods into the digital delivery of content via console, PC, tablet and mobile devices. "With John Riccitiello's hand on the tiller, EA has steered an extraordinary course - turning around its strategy, its reputation and its commercial performance." As a result, Riccitiello has been lauded as "one of the most interesting and successful business leaders in the games industry today - arguably the top of that elite list, in fact."
In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced it had exceeded $800 million in digital revenue as part of its year-end quarterly earnings. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said "EA's results were good…Digital revenue is growing faster than anyone expected."
In an August, 2011 blog post, Riccitiello spoke publicly about the transformation: “Our quality has risen dramatically. We’ve built an $800m+ digital business while pushing down operating costs ... Now, we are switching from defense to offense. We’re focusing on building our intellectual properties/franchises into year-round business. We’ve established our own platform, Origin, and we continue to grow our digital business."
Earlier in the year, at a commencement address at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Riccitiello said "we knew it would be hard but we had no idea how hard. We knew the enormous investments would be unsettling to investors … and that the return would be a long way off. Perhaps most painfully – we had to do these three hard things while the press and many financial analysts told us we were crazy – that the cutting we were doing was great, but that the investment in digital was just not a good idea. It proved very hard to hear the negative drumbeat from out there in the public while tacking very hard challenges at work. Like everyone else who has had a long business career, I’ve had first-hand experience with failure – and I’ve had the opportunity to learn and recover from it. Everyone fails. Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade … When it happens, fail well."
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(EA).
He received his Bachelors of Science
Bachelors Of Science
Bachelors of Science is the stage name of Phil "Rene", Chris and Lukeino. They met in California and formed a successful act, quickly becoming one of the top drum and bass producers in the electronic music scene...
degree from the Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
He then worked in a variety of consumer product companies including The Clorox Company (Brand Manager), PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
(Group Marketing Director), Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs is a brand of ice cream, established by Jewish-Polish immigrants Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976...
International (Managing Director), Wilson Sporting Goods
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
(President and Chief Executive Officer), and Sara Lee Corporation (President and Chief Executive Officer, Bakery Division).
From October 1997 through April 2004, Riccitiello became President and Chief Operating Officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
of Electronic Arts. He then left EA and co-founded Elevation Partners
Elevation Partners
Elevation Partners is an American private equity firm that invests in intellectual property and media and entertainment companies. The firm has $1.9 billion of assets under management....
, where Riccitiello served as Managing Director. In 2007
2007 in video gaming
-Events:*March 14: Microsoft announces Games for Windows - Live, a version of Xbox Live for the Windows platform. The service launched on May 8.*March 27: Microsoft announces the new "Xbox 360 Elite" stock-keeping unit . The revision comes with a bigger hard drive and the ability to output HDMI...
, Riccitiello was re-hired by EA, this time to serve as CEO. He currently serves on the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and on the Board of Directors of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Riccitello has been credited with diversifying Electronic Arts' business model, and leading the company's shift from consumer packaged goods into the digital delivery of content via console, PC, tablet and mobile devices. "With John Riccitiello's hand on the tiller, EA has steered an extraordinary course - turning around its strategy, its reputation and its commercial performance." As a result, Riccitiello has been lauded as "one of the most interesting and successful business leaders in the games industry today - arguably the top of that elite list, in fact."
In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced it had exceeded $800 million in digital revenue as part of its year-end quarterly earnings. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said "EA's results were good…Digital revenue is growing faster than anyone expected."
In an August, 2011 blog post, Riccitiello spoke publicly about the transformation: “Our quality has risen dramatically. We’ve built an $800m+ digital business while pushing down operating costs ... Now, we are switching from defense to offense. We’re focusing on building our intellectual properties/franchises into year-round business. We’ve established our own platform, Origin, and we continue to grow our digital business."
Earlier in the year, at a commencement address at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Riccitiello said "we knew it would be hard but we had no idea how hard. We knew the enormous investments would be unsettling to investors … and that the return would be a long way off. Perhaps most painfully – we had to do these three hard things while the press and many financial analysts told us we were crazy – that the cutting we were doing was great, but that the investment in digital was just not a good idea. It proved very hard to hear the negative drumbeat from out there in the public while tacking very hard challenges at work. Like everyone else who has had a long business career, I’ve had first-hand experience with failure – and I’ve had the opportunity to learn and recover from it. Everyone fails. Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade … When it happens, fail well."
External links
- The Unexpected Gamer Who Runs EA - Kotaku
- John Riccitiello named CEO of EA from San Jose Mercury NewsSan Jose Mercury NewsThe San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
- Spore Story - Seed Magazine
- Spore Reviews - Amazon