Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
John Riccitiello is well known around the gaming space as the man who currently serves as CEO of Unity, and previously had a couple stints at EA before that. He’s a bit of a polarizing figure, and has had a long history of leading various companies before landing at his current gig. With that in mind, let’s take a look back at John Riccitiello’s track record as a CEO.
In 1993, John Riccitiello was named the CEO of Wilson Sporting Goods, his first time holding such a title. This came after he worked at both Clorox and PepsiCo. He also served as the Managing Director at Häagen-Dazs.
In 1996, John Riccitiello left Wilson Sporting Goods to become the CEO of Sara Lee Bakery Worldwide. However, this would only last for just over a year, as Riccitiello would leave in September of 1997 to join the video game industry.
John Riccitiello joined Electronic Arts in October 1997. He was the company’s COO until 2004, when he became CEO. During his time at EA, he established himself in the gaming industry and oversaw the release and distribution of the company’s major products. He would leave EA a couple of years later to co-found an equity firm called Elevation Partners. Riccitiello would return to his CEO role at EA in 2007.
During his second stint with Electronic Arts, Riccitiello presided over the company and oversaw its major releases. In 2013, John Riccitiello resigned from EA after continued poor financial performance at the company.
In 2014, John Riccitiello became the CEO of Unity, the company that created and operates the popular Unity gaming engine. During his time at Unity, the company made some major acquisitions, including Weta Digital and Parsec. It also saw some financial hardship, missing revenue and EPS expectations, and laying off hundreds of employees. In recent quarters, Unity lowered its financial guidance significantly. Riccitiello still serves as the CEO of Unity, and found himself in hot water quite recently over some insulting comments made towards mobile developers.
That’s the history of John Riccitiello as a CEO from the early 90s up to modern day. For more on the business side of the video game industry and the major players within it, Shacknews has you covered.