Goal is to help save the dying company.
Reggie Fils-Aime

Reggie Fils-Aimé has joined the GameStop board of directors, the company announced today. This will be the first industry job held by Fils-Aimé since he retired as the president and COO of Nintendo of America in April 2019.

The announcement was made first by a GameStop press release and then shortly thereafter tweeted out by Fils-Aimé himself. Fils-Aimé joins two other new board members today. They are being brought on to help bring the dying retailer back into the realm of profitability.


GameStop CEO George Sherman issued a statement about today's new board members.

“The Board refreshment and governance enhancements announced today represent an important milestone in GameStop’s transformation as we continue to evolve the Company’s business strategy for long-term success. We are pleased to welcome Reggie, Bill and J.K. to the Board. They are each highly qualified and bring significant, relevant experience to our turnaround. We look forward to immediately benefitting from their expertise and perspectives as we navigate the evolving gaming and retail environments, execute on our strategic initiatives and prepare the Company to maximize value-creation associated with the next generation of console launches later this year."
Joining Fils-Aimé today are William "Bill" Simon and James "J.K." Symancyk. Simon is a "seasoned executive with more than 30 years of experience." Symancyk brings in over 25 years of "executive leadership" to the table and has served as the president and CEO of PetSmart. Both Simon and Symancyk begin their new roles "immediately."

Fils-Aimé will assume his new role starting April 20, 2020. This would be roughly a year and 5 days after parting ways from Nintendo. I assume there may be a year-long noncompete agreement with Nintendo following Reggie's retirement from the company.

Reginald “Reggie” Fils-Aimé, 58, is an accomplished media and technology executive who brings more than 35 years of experience transforming companies, revitalizing brands and reshaping industries. From 2006 to 2019, he served as President and COO of Nintendo of America, Inc. During his tenure, Mr. Fils-Aimé focused on the development and launch of industry re-defining products, including the Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch, quadrupling the company’s revenue from 2005 to 2010, and oversaw the successful implementation of the company’s digital strategy. He previously served as Nintendo of America’s EVP of Sales and Marketing from 2003 to 2006. Prior to joining Nintendo, Mr. Fils-Aimé served as SVP of Marketing for VH1 from 2001 to 2003, where he led a strategic shift to appeal to younger consumers that resulted in an increase in ratings of more than 30 percent. Earlier in his career, he held multiple marketing roles at a variety of consumer and manufacturing companies, including the Derby Cycle Corporation, Guinness Import Company, Panda Management Company, Inc., Pizza Hut, Inc. and the Procter & Gamble Company. Mr. Fils-Aimé holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University. Mr. Fils-Aimé has been appointed as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, effective April 20, 2020.