EA today announced some significant changes to the structure of the company - the first major changes since the whole label organization was set up back in 2007. The publisher has now decided to make BioWare its own label, and so the four EA labels are as follows: EA Games, EA Sports, EA Play and BioWare.
Along with the restructuring, it was announced that EA Sports' Peter Moore will take the COO role that was left vacant by John Schappert (who left for Zynga earlier this year). Additionally, Frank Gibeau, who oversees the EA Games business, will now oversee all labels as EA Labels President. And importantly, on the digital side, Barry Cottle will continue to oversee EA Interactive, which now includes Playfish, Pogo, EA Mobile, the Hasbro partnership, the online and mobile business in Asia and PopCap (in the near future).
EA CEO John Riccitiello talked about how far EA's come since 2007 and how it's switched from "defense to offense." Regarding the promotions and restructuring, he added, "Two final thoughts on the reorganization: First, I think it’s a great reflection on EA that we are able to tap so much world-class leadership from within our own ranks. The depth of talent and leadership in this company is inspiring.
"Second, as I look across EA and back on its history, I come to an important realization. The people who succeed here are the ones who map their creative vision over a deep understanding of what our consumers want. Our Label structure reflects that strategy. It creates a close partnership between developers and product marketers that connects the creative process to our consumers. This is an exciting time. The opportunities are growing exponentially and EA is growing and changing to capture them."
