EA promotes Laura Miele to head of global publishing as Peter Moore moves to esports role

Video game giant Electronic Arts announced today that Laura Miele will be the company’s new executive vice president of global publishing. The job is a new position, but she takes over from former chief operating officer Peter Moore, who will start the new quarter as EA’s full-time chief competition officer, which means he’s the head of esports.

The announcement is interesting from a few angles. Miele will be one of EA’s highest-ranking female executives at a time when the industry is having serious discussions about diversity and inclusion. Miele has held roles in publishing, marketing, and analytics at EA.

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“When you meet Laura, you are immediately struck by her passion for games and her love of EA,” said chief executive Andrew Wilson in a statement. “She has played an integral role in developing the fabric of our company, and she has navigated challenges with great focus and leadership. She understands our DNA, is deeply connected to our values, and invests her energy in our people and their success. I am thrilled to have her strategic thinking, drive and passion for play in this critical position as we focus on building meaningful relationships with you.”

Miele has worked in marketing at EA and was the general manager of its Star Wars group from June 2013 to June 2014.

“I have been fortunate in my 20 years at EA to be a part of delivering what I believe to be the highest form of entertainment to millions of people around the world all while working with the thousands of incredibly talented people who make up this company,” Miele said. “I am honored to step into this new role and lead global publishing in a time of rapid change for the industry, when there is more opportunity than ever to deliver awesome experiences to players. I couldn’t imagine a more exciting challenge.”

This also says that esports is becoming increasingly important to even the biggest companies in the industry, and Moore’s appointment to that role shows that EA is serious about participating.

Activision Blizzard recently started its own esports division, saying it wanted to become the ESPN of esports. Then ESPN itself said it wanted to be the ESPN of esports. It’s still unclear to me what a standalone esports game division or executive would do, but I guess that’s for someone like Moore to figure out.

Here’s the full blog post by EA chief executive Andrew Wilson:

I am pleased to announce that Laura Miele will join my executive leadership team starting in Q1 of our FY17 to serve as EVP, Global Publishing. In her new role, Laura will align our Publishing and Worldwide Customer Experience teams to connect you to more of our games around the world, and support you every step of the way.

Over the course of her 20-year career with Electronic Arts, Laura has held a variety of leadership roles across publishing, marketing and analytics. When you meet Laura, you are immediately struck by her passion for games and her love of EA. She has played an integral role in developing the fabric of our company, and she has navigated challenges with great focus and leadership. She understands our DNA, is deeply connected to our values, and invests her energy in our people and their success. I am thrilled to have her strategic thinking, drive and passion for play in this critical position as we focus on building meaningful relationships with you.

Laura embarks on this new role at a time of exciting transformation inside our organization, against a continued goal of connecting you to the content you want, where you are, and in all-new ways. The start of our new fiscal year also marks an important strategic shift for Peter Moore, who has made an outstanding impact on our business, our culture and our players for more than four years as EA’s COO. Now, Peter moves into the full-time role of Chief Competition Officer, where he and his team will be working with teams across EA to pioneer all-new opportunities for you to connect and compete in our games. As Laura and Peter both transition into critical new roles, I am inspired by our commitment to bring value to you in every step of your journey with us.

Here is a little from Laura in her own words:

“I have been fortunate in my 20 years at EA to be a part of delivering what I believe to be the highest form of entertainment to millions of people around the world all while working with the thousands of incredibly talented people who make up this company. I am honored to step into this new role and lead Global Publishing in a time of rapid change for the industry, when there is more opportunity than ever to deliver awesome experiences to players. I couldn’t imagine a more exciting challenge.”

Congratulations to Laura on her well-deserved new role leading our Global Publishing Organization, and to Peter for building the new Competitive Gaming Division.