In a post on EA’s The Beat, the company’s new Executive Chairman, Larry Probst, revealed the resignation of EA’s CEO John Riccitiello.
“Today John Riccitiello submitted his resignation to EA’s Board of Directors. In a letter to the Board, John outlined that while the company has made enormous progress in improving product quality and transitioning to digital games and services, our financial performance is tracking below the expectations set at the beginning of our fiscal year. This was disclosed in our last earnings call.”
Riccitiello’s last day at EA has been set for March 30th, with Probst stepping into the role of Executive Chairman in order to work with him and management to ‘ensure a smooth and orderly transition.’ Probst was the CEO before Riccitiello from 1991 to 2007.
“As we begin the CEO search, we are fortunate that Larry, who has a proven track record with our employees, partners and customers, has agreed to assume a day-to-day leadership role as Executive Chairman. He has 16 years of experience as CEO of EA and a deep understanding of the Company’s strategy, management team, business potential and industry trends,” stated Lead Director Richard A. Simonson.
“EA is an outstanding company with creative and talented employees, and it has been an honor to serve as the Company’s CEO. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and after six years I feel it is the right time for me pass the baton and let new leadership take the Company into its next phase of innovation and growth. I remain very optimistic about EA’s future — there is a world class team driving the Company’s transition to the next generation of game consoles,” said Riccitiello.
Riccitiello was initially hired to work at EA as their Chief Operating Officer in 1997 before leaving the company in ’04 to help start a private equity firm; he later returned to EA in 2007 as their CEO.