Home > Kimishima to Retire as President, Furukawa Assumes Role in June
Originally published on Nintendo Castle.
Nintendo is getting ready for another transition of power. Announced today, current Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima will be stepping down from his role as of June 28, 2018. The next president who will be the sixth President of Nintendo will be 46-year-old Shuntaro Furukawa. Furukawa originally joined Nintendo in 1994, where he worked on global marketing and accounting in Germany for 10 years. He became General Manager of Corporate Planning Department in 2015, and joined the Nintendo Board of Directors in June 2016.
While some fans are already worried for the future of Nintendo, others are optimistic about it. Many are citing Furukawa’s young age (he turned 46 this past January), as well as other qualities, like his fluent English, as a key aspect for the next President. Yuji Nakamura, a Bloomberg reporter, also noted other parts, such as ⅓ of his career spent overseas, and his key role on the Switch.
Kimishima was originally President of Nintendo of America from January 2002 to May 2006, when Reggie took his position. He became President of Nintendo in September 2015, following Satoru Iwata's death earlier that same year in July.
Following Nintendo’s recent successes during Kimishima’s time, including the Nintendo Switch, we can only hope that Furukawa can maintain the same strength once he is president. Stay tuned to NintendoCastle for more on the latest Nintendo news.
