Reggie Fils-Aime

Infobox Person
name = Reginald Fils-Aimé


image_size = 200px
caption =
birth_date = March 1961
birth_place = United States
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = President of Nintendo of America

Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé (pronEng|ˈfiːzəmeɪ "fee-suh-may") (born March 1961) is President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japan-based video game company Nintendo.cite web | title=Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aimé Tells Us How To Say His Name | url=http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2007/10/01/nintendos-reggie-fils-aime-tells-us-how-to-say-his-name/ | publisher=MTV | last=Totilo | first=Stephen|accessdate = 2007-10-29] [cite web|url = http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/25/reggie-fils-aime-promoted-to-noa-president/|title = Reggie Fils-Aime promoted to NOA president|accessdate = 2007-10-29|date = |year = |month = |work = Nintendo Press Room|publisher = Joystiq] Prior to his promotion to President and Chief Operating Officer, Fils-Aime was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He gained celebrity status among gamers following his appearance at Nintendo's May 2004 E3 press conference.

Biography

Reggie Fils-Aimé was born to Haitian immigrants, who moved to the United States due to the conflicting political views of Fils-Aimé's grandparents.cite web|url = http://kotaku.com/gaming/reggie/reggie-interviewed-by-san-jose-mercury-news-245080.php|title = Reggie Interviewed By San Jose Mercury News|accessdate = 2007-10-29|date = 2007-03-18| work =San Jose Mercury News|publisher = Kotaku] He graduated from Brentwood High School and was accepted to Cornell University in 1979. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E0DA103FF93BA25752C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink THE BOSS; Life as the Regginator - New York Times ] ] He earned a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics in 1983.

Early 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 Corporation, directing sales and marketing efforts for eight brands. Fils-Aimé served as Managing Director and oversaw Derby's British operations.

He then joined the world's Chinese food service leader, 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

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-Aime is 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 gained a cult following soon after, with many gamers calling him the "Regginator"Citation| last=Peterson| first=Kim| author-link=Kim Peterson| publication-date=2006-11-12| title=Putting Nintendo back in the game | periodical=The Seattle Times| url= http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003405192_nintendo12.html | accessdate= 2007-10-29] and video games podcast Angry Gamer turning him into a recurring character on their show. Following the conference, many images of him spread across the Web. Reggie is considered by some 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). [cite web|url = http://www.thegamefeed.com/features-055b6eaa0eb7a7717c79e7e0dda8bcf2.html|title = Meet a Gamer - Reggie Fils-Aime|accessdate = 2007-10-29|last = Lin|first = John|date = 2006-07-18 |publisher =The Game Feed]

He has attributed the success of the Wii to a marketing strategy laid out by Clayton Christensen:

On November 5, 2007, at the encouragement of a professor 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.

Personal life

Fils-Aimé was previously married and divorced. Fils-Aimé is the father of three children. He has a long-term girlfriend, Stacey Sanner, whom he met at his previous career at VH1.

Awards

* Clio Award
* AICP award for Advertising Excellence
* Silver Edison from the American Marketing Institute
* 2 Gold EFFIEs from the New York American Marketing Association
* Named one of the "Marketing 100" by "Advertising Age" in 1998

References

External links

* [http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/marketing/manners/100404.html Reggie Who?] , from FastCompany.com, a corporate look at what Fils-Aime adds to Nintendo.
* [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060209/cifaldi_01.shtml Surfing The Blue Ocean: Fils-Aime On Nintendo's Expanding Market] , from Gamasutra (February 9, 2006)
* [http://cube.ign.com/articles/514/514769p1.html The Nintendo Reggie-Lution] , from IGN (May 13, 2004)
* [http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=2104 GameCube Advanced outdated biography]
* [http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_5464979 San Jose Mercury News GDC 2007 Interview]
* [http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=552102 N'Gai Croal's Level Up GDC 2007 Interview Part 1]
* [http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=552880 N'Gai Croal's Level Up GDC 2007 Interview Part 2]
* [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1565177/20070719/index.jhtml MTV E3 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/wii/games/features/125669.shtml?&AFC-HSUIT&ATTR=GONI GamePro E3 2007 Interview]