Amazon CFO Quitting to Join Electronic Arts

Warren Jenson, chief financial officer of Amazon.com Inc., said he will leave the online retailer to join Electronic Arts Inc.

Jenson, 45, will replace Stan McKee, 58, who will retire after 13 years as EA’s financial chief. Weeks after Amazon reported a profit for 2001, its first, Jenson in February announced plans to resign sometime this year.

Jenson, who was the CFO for NBC between 1992 and 1996, said he weighed several offers before he settled on Redwood City, Calif.-based EA, the country’s largest video game publisher. Amazon has yet to name Jenson’s replacement.

“We’ve had discussions with a number of promising candidates and we’re making progress for finding the right person for Amazon,” said Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith, who declined to say when the retailer, which is expected to have $3.7 billion in sales this year, is likely to appoint a new CFO. Jenson’s move is a coup for EA, which has been searching for a successor to McKee for nearly a year.

Before the news was announced, Amazon closed up 51 cents at $15.85 and EA closed up $1.40 to $63.75, both on Nasdaq.

Alex Pham