Electronic Arts Inc.
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1982 to present
Andrew Wilson is the CEO of Electronic Arts, in the role since 2013. The first chief executive was Trip Hawkins, from 1982.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wilson | Chief Executive Officer | 2013 | Present | 13 |
| John Riccitiello | Chief Executive Officer | 2007 | 2013 | 6 |
| Larry Probst | Chief Executive Officer | 1991 | 2007 | 16 |
| Trip Hawkins | Founder and Former CEO | 1982 | 1991 | 9 |
Electronic Arts is a Redwood City-based developer and publisher of console, PC and mobile games. Its EA SPORTS label (EA SPORTS FC, Madden NFL, College Football, NHL, F1) carries much of the company's revenue, while EA Entertainment covers Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Star Wars Jedi, Need for Speed and BioWare titles. Studios include EA Vancouver, EA Orlando, DICE, Respawn, Maxis, BioWare, Criterion, Codemasters and Motive. Since August 2026, EA has been privately owned by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California.
EA earns money in three ways. Live services and other revenue ($5.383B, or 71% of fiscal 2026 net revenue) comes from Ultimate Team packs and currency, seasonal passes, cosmetic items in Apex Legends, Sims expansion packs, the EA Play subscription, mobile in-app purchases, advertising and licensing. Full-game sales ($2.148B in fiscal 2026) come from premium releases such as EA SPORTS FC, Madden NFL, College Football and Battlefield, sold mostly as digital downloads on PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch. Annual sports releases anchor the model: players buy the new edition each year and then keep spending inside its live-service modes.
Chief Executive Officer
2013 – Present
13 years (current)
Wilson shifted EA toward digital distribution and live services, expanded Ultimate Team, acquired Respawn, Codemasters and Glu Mobile, rebranded FIFA as EA SPORTS FC and agreed to the 2025-2026 take-private.
Live services grew to 71% of net revenue by fiscal 2026, and Wilson remained CEO after EA went private in August 2026.
Chief Executive Officer
2007 – 2013
6 years
Riccitiello acquired BioWare, Pandemic and PopCap and launched the Origin digital store.
He started EA's digital transition before Wilson took over.
Chief Executive Officer
1991 – 2007
16 years
Probst expanded EA into consoles and global sports licensing and grew the studio network through acquisitions.
He scaled EA into one of the largest independent publishers.
Founder and Former CEO
1982 – 1991
9 years
Hawkins treated developers as credited 'software artists', built a direct-to-retail sales force and signed John Madden for John Madden Football (1988).
He set the creative and commercial template that became EA SPORTS and took EA public in 1989 before leaving to found 3DO.
EA faces hit-driven release risk, franchise concentration in EA SPORTS FC and Madden, sports-license costs, live-service competition, loot-box regulation, platform fees, heavy buyout debt and morale and output risk from post-acquisition layoffs.
Andrew Wilson became CEO of Electronic Arts in September 2013 and later also chairman. He joined EA in 2000, ran EA SPORTS, led the shift to live services, the Respawn, Codemasters and Glu deals, the EA SPORTS FC rebrand and the 2026 take-private, and remained CEO afterward.
John Riccitiello served as CEO of EA from 2007 to 2013 (having previously served as COO from 1997 to 2004). Riccitiello acquired BioWare, DICE, and PopCap Games, launched the Origin digital store, and initiated EA's early mobile and digital transition before later becoming CEO of Unity.
Larry Probst served as CEO of EA for 16 years, scaling the company from $175 million in revenue to over $3 billion, taking EA to the top of the global gaming industry, establishing the EA SPORTS label, and serving as Chairman of the Board until 2021.
Trip Hawkins founded EA in 1982, ran it as CEO until 1991, signed John Madden for John Madden Football and took EA public in 1989.
Senior leaders alongside CEO Andrew Wilson include CFO Stuart Canfield, Laura Miele (president of EA Entertainment, Technology and Central Development) and Cam Weber (president of EA SPORTS).
Since the August 2026 take-private, EA is governed by its private owners PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners rather than a public-company board answering to shareholders.
Wilson's tenure has drawn criticism over layoffs; EA disclosed his fiscal 2026 total compensation at about $38.6M while cutting staff at the Battlefield studios.
Wilson has said EA wants to build connected communities around its biggest franchises, and the new owners have endorsed heavier use of AI in development.
Andrew Wilson serves as CEO. A rare internal promotion (he originally worked on the FIFA franchise), Wilson took over in 2013 and aggressively transitioned the company away from physical game discs toward highly profitable digital downloads and massive live-service subscriptions.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
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