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Tatsumi Kimishima Chosen as New President of Nintendo

Nintendo announced on Monday that Tatsumi Kimishima (pictured left in image at right) will serve as the new Representative Director and President of Nintendo. Nintendo's board of directors chose Kimishima in a meeting on Monday.

Kimishima's current titles include: Managing Director, General Director for the Corporate Analysis & Administration Division, and General Manager of the General Affairs Division. He is also in charge of Nintendo's Human Resources Division.

Nintendo stated in the press release:

We aim to strengthen and enhance the management structure of the Company following President (Representative Director) Satoru Iwata's passing on July 11, 2015 and a large-scale revision of the organizational structure of the Company on September 16, 2015.

Kimishima was born on April 21, 1950 in Tokyo, and he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Hitotsubashi University. He was appointed as the Representative Director of The Pokémon Company in December 2000, and then was appointed as Director of Nintendo of America Inc. and director of Nintendo in 2002. He then served for a while as director and CEO of Nintendo of America Inc. starting in May 2006. He was appointed as Managing Director of Nintendo in 2013.

Additionally, Nintendo announced role changes of some of its directors that will take effect on Wednesday. Genyo Takeda (General Manager of the Integrated Research & Development Division) will have a new title of Technology Fellow. Shigeru Miyamoto (General Manager of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division) will have a new title of Creative Fellow. Shigeyuki Takahashi (General Manager of the Finance Administration Division) will keep that title and will also serve as the Supervisor of the General Affairs Division. Takakashi will also be in charge of Nintendo's Quality Assurance Department.

Satoshi Yamato (General Manager of the Marketing Division) will keep that title and will also be in charge of the Advertising Department. Lastly, Shinya Takahashi (General Manager of the Software Planning & Development Division, and he is in charge of the Development Administration & Support Division) will serve as the General Manager of the Entertainment Planning & Development Division. He will also serve as the Supervisor of the Business Development Division and the Development Administration & Support Division.

Nintendo noted that a "Fellow" is "An individual selected from among the Representative Directors who has advanced knowledge and extensive experience, and holds the role of providing advice and guidance regarding organizational operations in a specialized area." The job title is a new title Nintendo is establishing on Wednesday.

Nintendo announced on July 12 that Iwata (pictured at right in above image) had passed away at age 55 a day earlier due to a bile duct growth. Iwata was appointed director of the company in 2000, and took over as representative director and president in 2002. He was also the CEO of Nintendo of America, as of June 2013. Iwata was the fourth president of Nintendo and the first outside of the Yamauchi family.

Image © Yuzuru Yoshikawa/Bloomberg

[Via BulbaNewsNOW]