EA’s President Quits to Join Venture Firm
Electronic Arts Inc. announced Wednesday that President John S. Riccitiello was leaving the world’s largest video game publisher to join a new venture capital firm.
Riccitiello, 45, joined the company as president in 1997 and also held the position of chief operating officer. EA Chairman Larry Probst will take over Riccitiello’s duties until a replacement is found.
Riccitiello could not be reached for comment, but EA spokesman Jeff Brown called the departure “entirely voluntary.” The resignation is effective immediately.
Riccitiello plans to join a firm started by Silver Lake Partners founder Roger McNamee.
During Riccitiello’s tenure, Redwood City, Calif.-based EA’s sales rose from about $673 million to more than $2 billion. Profit rose from $51.3 million in 1997 to $317.1 million in 2003.
Riccitiello “oversaw a period of transition for them during which big franchises became more and more important for them,” said analyst P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research in San Francisco, referring to series such as the “Madden NFL” line of sports games.
Electronic Arts sold 5.5 million copies of “Madden NFL 2004” between August and December last year.
Riccitiello was also influential in pushing the company into less successful ventures online -- including the 2002 release of “The Sims Online.” The game cost $5 million but earned scorching reviews and few subscribers.
Analyst Michael Pachter said Riccitiello’s stature at the company had been in question since Warren Jenson left online retailer Amazon.com Inc. to join EA in 2002 as chief financial and administration officer.
“It seemed clear he would have not left a good job unless EA was bringing him in so that he could compete with Riccitiello for becoming CEO someday,” said Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
The announcement was made after markets had closed. Shares fell $1.84 to $53.03 on Nasdaq. They dropped to $52.70 in after-hours trading.
Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.
