Nintendo’s board of directors is getting another member, as the Mario company has announced the nomination of Chris Meledandri–the founder and CEO of animation movie studio Illumination–as an outside director to Nintendo.
It’s expected that Meledandri will be voted in during the 81st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in June.
Nintendo said that Meledandri “has extensive experience as a film producer. We would like to nominate him as a new Outside Director with the expectation that he will appropriately supervise our companyʼs management from an objective perspective, while providing valuable advice to our organization, based on his broad experience and insight gained as a leader in the field of entertainment.”
The Mario company pointed out that Nintendo’s current group of Outside Directors are are made up of lawyers and accountants, and they contribute to Nintendo’s Audit and Supervisory Committee. However, Meledandri won’t serve on the Audit and Supervisory Committee, Nintendo said, presumably because his strongest skills are elsewhere.
“We believe that the addition of Mr. Meledandri will help to ensure our balance of diversity, including global perspective, knowledge, and experience, further enhancing the effectiveness of our Board of Directors,” Nintendo said.
Meledandri is a Hollywood veteran who has produced many big animated films over the years such as Ice Age, Minions, and Despicable Me, among others. He’s also a producer on Illumination’s Mario animated movie that is currently in the works. Intriguingly, Nintendo’s president just recently said the company might make more animated films in the future, and having Meledandri on-hand as an Outside Director seemingly is connected to this.
Nintendo made this announcement as part of its earnings report, which showed a huge year for revenue and profit.
Watch live streams, videos, and more from GameSpot’s summer event.
Check it out
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]