Doug Bowser, the president and COO of Nintendo of America, has announced that he is retiring on December 31. According to a press release sent out by Nintendo, Devon Pritchard, who has been with Nintendo for 19 years, will succeed him in the leadership role. Additionally, Satoru Shibata, who has held various roles in Nintendo since 1999, will take on the CEO responsibilities of Nintendo of America.
Doug Bowser Retires from Nintendo
Doug Bowser took over Nintendo of America’s presidential duties following the retirement of Reggie Fils-Aimé in 2019. While he was never as outward and public as Reggie was in his long tenure, Bowser has played a big role in bringing the Nintendo Switch 2 to release, and the press release gives him a lot of credit for Nintendo jumping into theme parks and theatrical films in recent years.
In the press release, Bowser says the following:
“One of my earliest video game experiences was playing the arcade version of Donkey Kong. Since that time, all things Nintendo have continued to be a passion for both me and my family. Leading Nintendo of America has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what our team has accomplished in both business results and the experiences we’ve created for consumers.
“Now, it’s time for the next generation of leadership and Devon’s track record speaks for itself. She is an exceptional leader, and her promotion is a testament to her strong performance and strategic contributions to the company’s growth. I have full confidence that she will guide the company to even greater heights.”
Devon Pritchard has a long history of marketing, PR, and business affairs within Nintendo. She calls Bowser a great role model in the press release and follows that up with a pretty standard message of expressing excitement for continuing Nintendo’s legacy.
While we don’t know much about Pritchard, we would imagine she will play a pretty muted role in the public spotlight within Nintendo, much like Bowser has for the past six years. There just aren’t many people like Reggie in the business world.
