Reginald Fils-Aimé ( / ˈ f iː s ə m eɪ / FEE -sə-may ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman who served as the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American branch of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, from 2006 to 2019. Before becoming president and COO, Fils-Aimé worked as the executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Fils-Aimé became well-known among gamers after speaking at Nintendo's E3 2004 press conference in May 2004. His work helped improve Nintendo's reputation as a strong competitor to other video game console companies, such as Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft. Before joining Nintendo, Fils-Aimé held sales and marketing leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, Guinness, Derby Cycle, Panda Express, and VH1.

Fils-Aimé left his position as president of Nintendo of America on April 15, 2019, following an announcement made on February 21. He was replaced by Doug Bowser. After retiring, Fils-Aimé became a Leader in Residence at Cornell University and later joined the boards of directors for Brunswick Corporation, GameStop, and Spin Master.

Early life

Reginald Fils-Aimé was born on March 25, 1961, in The Bronx, New York City. His parents moved to the United States from Haiti in the 1950s because of disagreements between his grandparents. His paternal grandfather was a general when the Haitian military took control of the government, which included his maternal grandfather. Fils-Aimé’s mother worked as a lead sales representative at a fine jewelry store, and his father was a machinist. He has said that he learned his optimistic attitude from his mother. He grew up on Long Island and attended Brentwood High School, where he described himself as the "lone minority" among his classmates. He was admitted to Cornell University in 1979 and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in applied economics and management from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He served as president of the school’s Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity chapter and was described as neat and organized.

Career

Reggie Fils-Aimé began his career at Procter & Gamble, working in the company's brand management program. He later joined Pizza Hut as senior director of national marketing, where he introduced the Bigfoot Pizza and the Big New Yorker.

Fils-Aimé worked as Head of Marketing for Guinness Imports Co. in the United States, managing all of the company's brands. He also served as chief marketing officer at Derby Cycle, overseeing sales and marketing for eight brands worldwide. At Derby Cycle, he also managed Raleigh U.K., the company's operations in Britain.

In 2001, Fils-Aimé joined Panda Management Co., an American Chinese food company, as senior vice-president. He later worked at MTV's VH1 network as senior vice-president from 2001 to 2003. During his time at VH1, he helped increase the network's ratings by 30% by changing the channel's focus to attract younger viewers. He also developed a marketing plan for The Concert for New York City, which raised over $35 million for disaster relief after the September 11 attacks.

Fils-Aimé joined Nintendo in December 2003 as executive vice president of sales and marketing. Before accepting the position, he asked to meet Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's president, which was unusual. Their meeting lasted longer than expected and helped build a strong, friendly relationship between Fils-Aimé and Iwata. Fils-Aimé later called Iwata his mentor and a close friend.

At Nintendo, Fils-Aimé was initially responsible for all sales and marketing activities in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. On May 25, 2006, he became president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America after Tatsumi Kimishima moved to a new role as chairman and chief executive officer. Fils-Aimé was the first American to hold this position.

When Fils-Aimé joined Nintendo in 2003, the video game industry was not growing quickly, and competitors like Microsoft and Sony were trying to regain interest with more powerful consoles. Nintendo had recently reorganized its leadership, and Iwata had become president the year before. The company was producing the GameCube, but many games were sequels with little new content. Fils-Aimé said Nintendo's decision to focus on fun and creativity was made before he joined, and his marketing skills helped support this goal.

Fils-Aimé became a public face for Nintendo at the 2004 E3 event. Before this, Nintendo's press conferences were seen as quiet and unexciting compared to those of Microsoft and Sony. At the 2004 event, Fils-Aimé introduced himself with a bold statement: "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games." His presentation criticized the approaches of Microsoft and Sony and was planned by Nintendo's leadership. His energetic style helped change Nintendo's image and earned him a nickname, "Regginator," among fans.

Fils-Aimé helped improve Nintendo's public relations in North America, leading fans and the press to call his arrival the "Reggielution." He worked to reach both younger and older gamers, believing that appealing to all groups would help the industry grow. He also changed how Nintendo worked with vendors, creating agreements that encouraged higher sales of Nintendo products. This strategy contributed to the success of the Nintendo DS. Fils-Aimé credited the success of the Wii to a marketing strategy described by Clayton Christensen, which focused on creating new products that appealed to untapped audiences.

In 2007, Fils-Aimé introduced the Wii Balance Board with the phrase "My body is ready," which became a popular internet phrase. He later used the phrase in various public appearances. When Nintendo started holding online press conferences called Nintendo Direct, Fils-Aimé often participated with Satoru Iwata, including a mock Mii-avatar battle that also became a meme. He also worked with production teams like Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and The Jim Henson Company on skits for Nintendo events.

In 2007, Fils-Aimé gave a guest lecture at Cornell University on Nintendo's marketing strategies, at the request of a professor. He was a member of Cornell's advisory council for the Communication department from 2008 to 2021.

In 2016 and 2017, Fils-Aimé appeared on the Game Theorists web show Deadlock, discussing Nintendo-related topics. He announced his resignation as president and chief operating officer of Nintendo on February 21, 2019.

Accolades

Fils-Aimé has been honored for his marketing skills in the advertising field. He has received awards such as the Clio Award, two Gold Effie Awards, an Association of Independent Commercial Producers Award for advertising excellence, a Silver Edison from the American Marketing Institute, and was named to the "Marketing 100" list by Advertising Age in 1998. In the video game industry, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Video Game Hall of Fame and received the Legend Award from the New York Videogame Critics Circle.

Personal life

Fils-Aimé is married to Stacey Sanner, his girlfriend for a long time, whom he met during his previous job at VH1. He has three children from a previous marriage. He began playing video games with his children when they were two and five years old. In 2006, he lived on the Eastside of Seattle.