Andrew Wilson was born on 7 September 1974, in Geelong, Victoria Australia, and is a businessman best known as the CEO of Electronic Arts, an American gaming company which so successful that Fortune magazine ranks Andrew third in its list of Business Persons of the Year in 2015, behind only the CEOs Mike Parker of Nike and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
So just how rich is Andrew Wilson? Sources estimate that Andrew’s net worth is over $25 million, accumulated during his career in business spanning less than 20 years, but currently assisted enormously by his annual salary of a basic $4 million from EA, but totalling up to $14 million with share options – no doubt that his wealth will increase considerably if his success is maintained.
Andrew Wilson Net Worth $25 Million
Andrew Wilson was educated at Geelong Grammar School, and then Melbourne University, After a business grounding in small companies in Australia, he moved to the USA in the late 1990s, and joined EA Sports, as it was then, in 2000. From its creation in 1982, the company was in the home computer games industry early, and initially Andrew was involved in product development, which was generally successful and certainly contributed to his rising net worth.
Wilson gradually became more involved in management and decision-making, particularly in the development of both digital services and packaged goods, all with a steady increase in net worth.
Andrew then worked for several years in the Asian market, including the development of European markets, and Asia Online Publishing, alongside the EA Studio in Seoul. These also involved his idea of a business selling direct to the consumer. Wilson’s long-term interest in sports can be seen from his contribution to the development of EA’s range of soccer games – which of course was particularly relevant to Asia and Europe – including FIFA Street, FIFA Manager, and FIFA World Cup, all of which enhanced his reputation in the company and industry, as well as his net worth, such that he became vice-president and executive producer of the EA Sports FIFA Soccer Division.
In 2011, Andrew Wilson was appointed Electronic Arts Inc. executive vice-president for EA Sports, in which position he served for two years, before he became the CEO of EA in September 2013. Despite his record with the company, the selection process took six months, partly because his predecessor had not succeeded in promoting the company very well at all. In fact, EA was voted the ‘most hated’ company in the industry, as it was seen to but business first without much thought to clients.
Prior to Wilson’s appointment, EA’s revenue had dropped by two-thirds in six years. Since then, Wilson has overseen the reorganisation of both personnel and products, including a reduction of 10% in the former, but development of studios worldwide to specifically target local needs. The change around has seen losses of over $2.5 billion in the previous three years turned into profits of over $1 billion in the last financial year, with a consequent increase in Wilson’s net worth.
As testimony to Andrew Wilson’s real net worth to EA, aside from the aforementioned Fortune ranking, awards have included number three on Forbes magazine’s list of Americas Most Powerful CEO’s under 40, in the Adweek 100 Most Influential Leaders in Marketing and Tech, number five on the 2014 BBC.com’s list of best CEOs, and winner of the BAFTA – Games/Sports (for FIFA 2010), among others.
In his personal life, Andrew Wilson is married, and has a daughter and a son. As befits a sportsman, he is a keen surfer and golfer, and has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
