Andrew Wilson (born 7 September 1974)[citation needed] is an Australian businessman who has been the CEO of Electronic Arts (EA) since September 2013. He has also been chairman of the company since 2021.
Andrew Wilson | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Australian |
Alma mater | Queensland University of Technology[2] |
Occupation(s) | Chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts |
Years active | 2000–present |
Predecessor | John Riccitiello |
Wilson grew up in a working-class family in Victoria and Queensland, Australia.[2] In his youth he played rugby and basketball at school, coached Taekwondo, and played golf, surfed, swam, and ran.[2]
He attended Queensland University of Technology, but dropped out before obtaining his law degree.[2]
In the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, Wilson, living in Sydney, built Australian websites for international corporations.[2] He subsequently also helped raise venture capital and launch IPOs for dot-com start-ups.[2]
After the dot-com bubble burst in late 1999, in May 2000 Wilson joined Electronic Arts' small video-game development studio on Australia's Gold Coast, which created V8 supercar, rugby, cricket, and surfing video games but needed someone with real experience in how the sports were actually played.[2] That studio closed in 2002 due to lack of scale.[2] Wilson then worked in the company's Asian and European markets for several years before moving to EA Sports and then becoming an executive producer on the FIFA franchise.[3] In August 2011 he was appointed executive vice president of EA Sports, and he also took on duties as executive vice president of the company's Origin platform in April 2013.[4][5]
Six months after the resignation of John Riccitiello, Wilson was chosen to be the new CEO of the company on September 17, 2013.[6]
In his first year as CEO, Wilson initiated a "player-first" corporate strategy, and offered more free-to-play games and in-app purchase options.[7] In a move towards a transformation from physical software to digital, he also greatly increased EA's digital offerings, and launched EA Access, a subscription-based digital service for Xbox One players that allows unlimited play across a selection of EA titles.[7][8] Electronic Arts had a large revenue increase and its stock price doubled in 2014.[7][9]
In 2021, Wilson became chairman of the board of EA, following the retirement of Larry Probst.[10]
In 2023, he restructured the company, and reorganized it into two organizations – EA Sports and EA Entertainment (formerly EA Games).[11][12]
Wilson is married, and has one daughter and one son.[13] He holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.[14]
Wilson and his family live in Atherton, California.[15] In 2022, along with several other Silicon Valley executives, he opposed a proposal to allow more than one home on a single acre in Atherton, which is one of Silicon Valley’s most exclusive and wealthiest towns.[15]