EA names Peter Moore chief operating officer

**ireggae** · 5th August 2011

EA names Peter Moore chief operating officer

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. has named Peter Moore, the head of its EA Sports label, as chief operating officer effective Aug. 8.

Moore replaces John Schappert, who left the company to join "FarmVille" maker Zynga Inc., the fast-rising online game company that's starting to encroach on traditional video game publishers. Aiming to stay competitive in the age of Facebook and mobile games, EA recently bought PopCap Games, the company behind "Bejeweled" and "Plants vs. Zombies."

EA said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it is also reshuffling the label structure it established in 2007. Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games, will become president of the EA Labels, which will comprise EA Games, EA Sports, Bioware and EA Play.

Barry Cottle, the executive vice president of EA Interactive, will oversee EA Mobile, Playfish, Pogo, Hasbro and PopCap after the PopCap acquisition closes, EA said.

CEO John Riccitiello, who has been working to tighten EA's cost structure and improve the quality of the games it publishes, said in a message to employees that the company's progress has been "incredible" since 2007.

"Not all of it was easy but looking back, it was exactly the right structure and priorities for the challenges we faced," he wrote. The changes included hundreds of job cuts.

"Now, we are switching from defense to offense. We're focusing on building our intellectual properties/franchises into year-round business. We've established our own platform, Origin, and we continue to grow our digital business."

Shares of Redwood City, Calif.-based EA rose 18 cents to $20.33 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed down $1.19, or 5.6 percent, at $20.15 amid a broader market decline.

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