Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
If you told us at any point that part of Reggie Fils-Aime’s post-Nintendo path would be joining Gamestop, we’d have probably pointed and laughed at you. But here we are. It would appear that recently, GameStop appointed Reggie Fils-Aime and two other high-level executives, William Simon and J.K. Symancyk, to positions on GameStop’s board of directors.
GameStop announced the upcoming entry of Fils-Aime, Simon, and Symancyk in a press release on March 9, 2020. While Simon and Symancyk will be appointed immediately, Fils-Aime will join them on April 20, 2020. The appointments come as former GameStop directors Dan DeMatteo, Gerald Szczepanski, Larry Zilavy, and Steve Koonin step down from their positions on the board starting in June 2020. Further directors Jerome Davis and Tom Kelly will also retire from positions on the board in June 2021. This is part of a continued effort on GameStops part to pursue accelerated transformation and enhance partnerships with gaming hardware and software developers and publishers. For his part, Reggie expressed enthusiasm in his new pursuits with GameStop.
GameStop CEO George Sherman also expressed enthusiasm in having Simon, Symancyk, and Fils-Aime on board with the company.
“We are pleased to welcome Reggie, Bill and J.K. to the Board,” said Sherman. “They are each highly qualified and bring significant, relevant experience to our turnaround. We look forward to immediately benefitting from their expertise and perspectives as we navigate the evolving gaming and retail environments, execute on our strategic initiatives and prepare the Company to maximize value-creation associated with the next generation of console launches later this year.”
It was back in February 21, 2019 that Reggie Fils-Aime stunned the world when he suddenly announced his retirement from Nintendo of America. Having been spurred towards an exit from Nintendo by the death of his friend and colleague, Satoru Iwata, Fils-Aime has been active ever since in various ventures of business leadership, mentorship, and cultivation, such as his joining of the NYVCC board to help guide and aid underprivileged youth.
Fils-Aime sudden entry into a role with GameStop may come as a surprise to many as the company faced losses and slowing business year upon year, but despite this, Reggie Fils-Aime seems to care about where the company is headed and how he can help with it. It will remain to be seen if he and his fellow new directors can truly lend a hand in righting GameStop’s perceivably floundering ship.