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LucasArts President Steps Down


Threepwood4life

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from IGN

 

LucasArts has just announced that President Paul Meegan has decided to step down from his position at the company. Mich Chau, President and Chief Operating Officer for Lucasfilm had the following to say:

 

Paul has been a valuable member of the Lucasfilm leadership team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. We remain committed to our current projects and will be re-evaluating LucasArts’ leadership needs to ensure that we make the right decisions to keep the studio focused.

 

Meegan led the studio through the announcement of Star Wars: 1313. No word on who his successor will be was given at this time, though LucasArts wanted to reiterate that development on all projects will continue.

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I can't believe this. It has to be some kind of joke now. I mean, I know it's real, but it makes no sense. Does anyone know how many presidents LEC has had so far?

Rogue Leaders is a handy guide for this. :) Let me look it up...

 

Peter Langston (general manager) - 1982-1984

Steve Arnold (general manager) - 1984-1991

Doug Glen 1991-1992 (general manager) (Mojo lists R. Douglas Norby who was president of LucasArts from 1990-1992 when ILM fell under that brand too)

Kelly Flock - 1992-1993 (general manager)

Randy Komisar - 1993-1995 (1993 was the first year the game division became a wholly separate entity from Lucasfilm or ILM)

Jack Sorensen - 1995-2000

Simon Jeffrey - 2000-2003

Mike Nelson - 2003-2004 (acting general manager after Simon Jeffrey quit)

Jim Ward - 2004-2008

Howard Ruffman February 1, 2008-April 2, 2008 (stand-in president after Jim Ward quit)

Darrel Rodriguez - 2008-2010

Jerry Bowerman May 7, 2010-June 9, 2010 (stand-in president after Darrell Rodriguez quit)

Paul Meegan - 2010-2012

Kevin Parker (interim head of business operations) and Gio Corsi (interim head of studio production) - August 2, 2012-

 

So, there were 8 people who actually had the title "president" and 15 people who led the company (5 of whom had the title "general manager" and 2 who are co-leading the company in the interim). There's been 16 studio heads if you count R. Douglas Norby who was president of LucasArts when the "LucasArts" brand included both Lucasfilm Games and Industrial Light and Magic.

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It seems to me that LEC was once allowed to be way more autonomous than they are today, with Lucasfilm execs who have no games industry experience casually switching out the presidents every two years (or less). Whether the president is a visionary genius or a stooge, that's not enough time to really establish a new direction for the company. It's like putting a pot of water on the stove for nine minutes when it won't come to a boil until the tenth minute - a waste of time.

 

I wonder what the recent coronation of Kathleen Kennedy as Lucas' successor means for the company? If she happens to like or have an interest in video games she could wield considerable influence over the company in a positive way. Lucas either lacked the interest or time to do anything but let the execs keep the divisions in check - a head honcho with more passion for what the developers are actually doing might go to bat for their work when some stuffed shirt opines, in order to prove that his job is valid, that the sixteen cent decrease in profits for the fiscal year calls for a change.

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The Verge reports that there's two people filling in to co-lead the company, Kevin Parker as interim head of business operations and Gio Corsi as interim head of studio production.

 

I like the idea of having two people run the company. Keep the business side and the creative side separate. I doubt that structure will continue when a permanent president is chosen though.

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