Reggie Fils-Aime

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Reginald Fils-Aimé

Born March 1961
United States
Occupation President of Nintendo of America

Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé (pronounced /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.[1][2] 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.[3]

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[edit] 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.[4] He graduated from Brentwood High School and was accepted to Cornell University in 1979.[5] He earned a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics in 1983.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Nintendo

Reggielution artwork made by a fan. A play on Fitzpatrick's version of Korda's famous Guevara photograph.
Reggielution artwork made by a fan. A play on Fitzpatrick's version of Korda's famous Guevara photograph.

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"[3] 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).[6]

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

First, how do you satisfy the core while still expanding appeal? And second, how do you leverage your strengths against entirely untapped audiences--to the so-called "blue oceans" in popular marketing speak? ... Provide a new product that actually underperforms on an established industry metric for "progress," and substitute an alternative that typically is smaller, less expensive and easier to use. Initially, the "core" of any industry will scoff. But if the product is right, enough new users will be attracted to form an alternative definition for progress.[7]

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.

[edit] 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.[3] When not playing the latest video games or spending time with his children, Reggie enjoys cleaning around the house. He has a strong passion towards washing dishes as well as vacuuming the floors. Reggie also enjoys going to the soccer field by his home and kicking around a ball. He used to play for a local premiere team, and he doesnt want to lose his inherited prowess for soccer.

[edit] Awards

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • 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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Totilo, Stephen. Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aimé Tells Us How To Say His Name. MTV. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  2. ^ Reggie Fils-Aime promoted to NOA president. Nintendo Press Room. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  3. ^ a b c Peterson, Kim (2006-11-12), “Putting Nintendo back in the game”, The Seattle Times, <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003405192_nintendo12.html>. Retrieved on 29 October 2007 
  4. ^ Reggie Interviewed By San Jose Mercury News. San Jose Mercury News. Kotaku (2007-03-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  5. ^ THE BOSS; Life as the Regginator - New York Times
  6. ^ Lin, John (2006-07-18). Meet a Gamer - Reggie Fils-Aime. The Game Feed. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  7. ^ Fils-Aime, Reggie. "Perspective: Nintendo on the latest 'technical divide'", Nintendo, CNET, 2007-05-09. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 

[edit] External links