Riccitiello: EA post is my dream job

Electronic Arts boss John Riccitiello has stated that the reason he returned to EA last year was because he considered the post of CEO his ‘dream job’.

In a Financial Times interview, Riccitiello added that his passion for video games and gadgetry had always been with him – and had been a key factor of his business success.

"Throughout I had this personal passion . . . I bought the earliest Apple products, built lasers and holograms in high school,” he said. I played the original Doom and Mortal Kombat.

"So the reason I was twice able to be quoted that this was my dream job – once when I came back and once a decade earlier – is that it was one of those rare circumstances where I was able to unite something I had a personal passion for together with where I could make a difference. Passion really matters in the entertainment business."

Riccitiello returned to EA last year after three years away from the company – time spent as boss of private equity firm Elevation PArtners.

According to the FT, Riccitiello has spent the past 11 years in video games, but worked the previous 17 in consumer goods.

He originally joined EA from Sara Lee, where he was head of its worldwide bakery division. Before that, he also held executive posts at Sporting Goods, Haagen-Dazs, PepsiCo and the Clorox Company.