EA sports head named as company’s new CEO

Electronic Arts has chosen the head of its sports unit, responsible for video gaming franchises such as Fifa Soccer and Madden NFL, as its new chief executive.

Andrew Wilson, succeeds John Riccitiello, who stood down in March. He will head one of the world’s largest gaming companies at a critical moment for the industry, with a new generation of consoles being launched later this year and disruption from the shift to mobile and social gaming.

The search for a new CEO was conducted by the Board from both outside the company and from within EA. “I am convinced that Andrew was an inspired choice by our Board, and one I expect the team at EA will enthusiastically support,” said Larry Probst, executive chairman. “Andrew is the first studio executive to serve as our CEO, a testament to his blend of creative skills and business acumen.

Mr Wilson, who has been at the company for 13 years, was appointed ahead of industry veterans Peter Moore, EA’s chief operating officer and former Microsoft Xbox games head, and Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Labels development studios, who had been seen as leading candidates. Don Mattrick, a former EA and Xbox executive, had been seen as a strong external candidate before leaving Microsoft to become chief executive at Zynga in July.

His moves to build digital services into console games – such as Fifa Ultimate Team, which allows players to customize and manage their own football club then compete online in a fantasy league – led him to take charge of Origin, EA’s digital download service, as part of a restructuring earlier this year.

Wilson starts at an annual base salary of $800,000 and is eligible for a bonus of 150% of that upon hitting his targets, the company said.

He will also receive 1 million stock options, worth $27.6 million at the close of trading on Tuesday, of which 24% will vest on November 1 2014 and the remainder every month for the next three years. The options will be priced after EA publishes its latest earnings next month.

Electronics Arts shares are on a upbeat this year recording more than 90% gain, year-to-date. Price rose 2.37% yesterday. The current consensus among 25 polled investment analysts by CNN Money is to hold stock in Electronic Arts Inc. This rating has held steady since September, when it was unchanged from a “hold” rating.