Reggie ‘The Regginator’ Fils-Aimé, who spearheaded the creation of Nintendo Direct, is a first-generation American who was born on March 25, 1961, in New York City and reared on Long Island by Haïtien parents. A 1979 graduate of Brentwood High School, he received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1983. While there, he was president of the school’s Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity chapter.
When the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed on September 11, 2001, after being attacked by al-Qaeda, Fils-Aimé created and implemented the marketing strategies for The Concert for New York City, which raised over $35 million for disaster relief.
In 2003 Fils-Aimé began his tenure with Nintendo as its Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing with emphasis on sales and marketing campaigns in North and Latin America. The following year, he gave a video game industry presentation at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the largest global video game exposition at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Two years later, in 2006, he became the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), thus being the only person of Haïtien descent to head a Fortune 500 company in the United States and the first American to hold the position of President and COO of Nintendo of America.
Under Fils-Aimé’s leadership, Nintendo grew and developed strategic partnerships in the gaming industry. In 2019, he was invited to give the commencement address at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. The institution also awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree. In addition, he received the annual Legend Award from the New York Video Game Critics Circle and was named Cornell University’s Dyson Undergraduate Business School Leader in Residence. He was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Video Game Hall of Fame. In a field that included few African Americans, Fils-Aimé brought modern gaming to a world marketplace, including innovations like the Nintendo DS, the Wii, the Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U.
Fils-Aimé retired from Nintendo of America in 2019 after serving as president of the gaming community for 16 years. He wrote of his experiences and his love for his work in his 2022 book, Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo. With the business philosophy of disruption, Blue Ocean thinking, and social and intellectual transparency, Fils-Aimé has created a path of inspiration for the youth and lifelong learning in global communities.
Reggie Fils-Aimé is married to Stacey Sanner Fils-Aimé, a photographer and videographer from Erie, Pennsylvania and they are the parents of three children.