EA's Florin Gets New Role

Electronic Arts vice president and general manger of international publishing Gerhard Florin will no longer hold that role, the company revealed through an SEC filing today.

Instead, EA says Florin will work on "various of the Company's global strategic and transformative initiatives." The move appears to shift his focus from day-to-day publishing operations to longer-term strategies around North America and European markets.

EA CCO Bing Gordon Departs For "All-New Round Of Invention"

Ten-year Electronic Arts chief creative officer William "Bing" Gordon is leaving the company to join California venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer, the firm announced today.

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal conducted an extensive interview about Gordon's decision to leave EA for the position of partner at Kleiner, beginning in June. In addition to being on comfortable terms with the partners at Kleiner, Gordon explained to Croal that the gaming youth and emerging trends helped inspire his decision:

"Being on campus with young people in videogame classes; seeing what they're interested in; seeing what's going on with the Internet turning into new kinds of platforms, from iPhone to Facebook and Amazon Web Services—I've gotten fired up about an all-new ride, an all-new round of invention that's coming," he says. "Kind of as part hobby, part work, I started diving into it. I realized that I really, really, really wanted to be in the middle of that.

It's worth noting that Gordon was one of EA's earliest employees, and that Kleiner was one of the first investors in the company during Trip Hawkins' startup days back in 1982. Full announcement from Kleiner follows the jump.

Just the FAQs: Departing EA Chief Creative Officer Tells Level Up 'After Twenty-Five Years at EA, I'm Ready to be a Forty-Year Old' [Level Up]