Reggie Fils-Aimé

Reggie Fils-Aimé

Fils-Aimé in 2011
Born Reginald Fils-Aimé
(1961-03-25) March 25, 1961
The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Cornell University
Occupation President and COO of Nintendo of America
Years active 1983-present
Employer Nintendo (2003–present)
Spouse(s) Stacy Sanner
Children 3[1] (as of 2006)

Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé (/ˈfiːsɛmˌeɪ/ FEESS-em-AY; March 25, 1961) is the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japanese video game company Nintendo.[2][3] Prior to his promotion to President and COO, Fils-Aimé was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Fils-Aimé gained celebrity status among gamers following his appearance at Nintendo's E3 2004 press conference in May 2004.[4]

In April 2016, Nintendo's annual financial briefing for 2015-2016 fiscal year revealed major changes in management positioning within the company and all its regional offices. Starting from June 29, 2016, Fils-Aimé will be appointed as executive officer of Nintendo of America for one year, and subsequently reappointed every year under the approval of Nintendo's board of directors.[5]

Early life

Reggie Fils-Aimé was born to Haitian immigrants, who immigrated to the United States due to the conflicting political views of his grandparents.[6] His name means "beloved son" in French. He was born in the Bronx[4] and graduated from Brentwood High School in Suffolk County, Long Island and was accepted to Cornell University in 1979.[7] While at Cornell, he was president[4] of the school's Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity chapter. He earned a Bachelor of Science in applied economics in 1983.

Career

After receiving his degree, Fils-Aimé took a position with Procter & Gamble. Following that, he took a position as Senior Director of National Marketing at Pizza Hut, where he launched the Bigfoot Pizza and The Big New Yorker.

Fils-Aimé has served as the Head of Marketing for Guinness in the United States and was responsible for all brands. He also worked as Chief Marketing Officer at Derby Cycle, directing sales and marketing efforts for eight brands. Fils-Aimé served as Managing Director and oversaw Raleigh U.K., Derby's British operations for six months in 1999.

He then joined the Chinese food company Panda Management Co. acting as Senior Vice President. Later, he came on board to VH1 as Senior Vice President. He was responsible for a 30% increase in ratings by refocusing the channel's content to appeal to younger viewers.

Nintendo

Reggie Fils-Aimé presenting at the 2011 Game Developers Conference.

Fils-Aimé joined Nintendo in December 2003 as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He was responsible for all sales and marketing activities for Nintendo in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. On May 25, 2006, Fils-Aimé became the President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America after former president, Tatsumi Kimishima, was moved to his new role as Chairman of the Board and chief executive officer. Fils-Aimé was the first American to hold this position.

Fils-Aimé shot to fame in May 2004 with the opening line of Nintendo's E3 press conference: "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games." His theatrical antics, flying in the face of Nintendo's long-standing "kiddie" image, gained a cult following soon after, with many gamers calling him the "Regginator".[4] Following the conference, many images of him spread across the Web. Reggie is considered to be responsible for revamping Nintendo's public relations in North America, leading many fans and members of the press to dub his arrival the "Reggielution" (after "Revolution", the code name for the Wii).[8] He has attributed the success of the Wii to a marketing strategy laid out by Clayton Christensen:

First, how do you satisfy the core while still expanding appeal? And second, how do you leverage your strengths against entirely untapped audiences--to the so-called "blue oceans" in popular marketing speak? ... Provide a new product that actually underperforms on an established industry metric for "progress," and substitute an alternative that typically is smaller, less expensive and easier to use. Initially, the "core" of any industry will scoff. But if the product is right, enough new users will be attracted to form an alternative definition for progress.[9]
Reggie during E3 2006

On July 11, 2007, while introducing the Wii Balance Board, Fils-Aime walked up onto the stage and stated “My body…My body is ready.” This quotation would eventually become a meme[10] and Reggie acknowledged the phrase several times, including the E3 2012 conference[11] and his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[12]

On November 5, 2007, at the encouragement of marketing professor Ed McLaughlin in the department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, Fils-Aimé gave a guest lecture on Nintendo's marketing strategy targeted at gamers across a spectrum of demographics. Fils-Aimé is a member of the Advisory Council for Cornell's Communication department.

Personal life

Fils-Aimé is married to Stacey Sanner, his longtime girlfriend whom he met in his previous position at VH1. He has three children from a previous marriage.[4][13] As of 2006 he lives on the Eastside of Seattle.[4]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Peterson, Kim (2006-11-12). "Putting Nintendo back in the game". The Seattle Times.
  2. ↑ Totilo, Stephen. "Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé Tells Us How To Say His Name". MTV. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  3. ↑ "Reggie Fils-Aime promoted to NOA president". Nintendo Press Room. Joystiq. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peterson, Kim (2006-11-12). "Putting Nintendo back in the game". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  5. ↑ Whitehead, Thomas (April 27, 2016). "Shake-Up to Nintendo Board Brings New Job Titles for Reggie Fils-Aime and Satoru Shibata". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Reggie Interviewed By San Jose Mercury News". San Jose Mercury News. Kotaku. 2007-03-18. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  7. ↑ Fils-Aimé, Reggie (2007-11-18). "THE BOSS; Life as the Regginator". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  8. ↑ Lin, John (2006-07-18). "Meet a Gamer - Reggie Fils-Aime". The Game Feed. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  9. ↑ Fils-Aimé, Reggie (2007-05-09). "Perspective: Nintendo on the latest 'technical divide'". Nintendo. CNET. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  10. ↑ Stark, Chelsea (1 July 2015). "Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says he loves all the company's games — except one". Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Hiscock, Andrew (13 June 2012). "Nintendo's E3 2012: Reactions show hardcore gamers lost faith in Wii U (graph)". Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Usher, William (5 August 2013). "Reggie Fils-Aime On Being Playable In Smash Bros Wii U: My Body Is Ready". www.cinemablend.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Stacey Sanner; About the author". Retrieved 13 October 2014.

External links

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