Seven have been promoted to the position of senior director and two others to the position of director.

All nine have significant experience with the company, helping shape the marketing of Nintendo GameCube, the best-selling Game Boy Advance and the upcoming Nintendo DS, which will revolutionize the way portable video games are played.

"Each of these employees has made remarkable contributions to Nintendo's success," says Tatsumi Kimishima, president of Nintendo of America Inc. "As leaders in their areas of expertise, both their dedication and professionalism make them ideal candidates for these well-deserved promotions."

Beth Llewelyn

Llewelyn has been promoted to senior director of corporate communications. She manages Nintendo of America's public relations activities in the United States, including media relations and the introduction of new Nintendo hardware and software products. She will now expand her role in global communications and investor relations. A graduate of Duke University, she joined Nintendo in 1996 after supporting the company as part of her duties at GolinHarris.

Robert Matthews

Matthews has been promoted to senior director of consumer marketing. He oversees all Nintendo advertising, consumer research, event marketing, sponsorships, partnership marketing and entertainment marketing. He joined Nintendo in 1999 after previously working in the film industry, at Ticketmaster and on the agency side of business.

Jon Pedersen

Pedersen has been promoted to senior director of technical services. He joined Nintendo of America in 1981 as service manager for coin-operated arcade games. Under his leadership the Technical Services Department has grown to encompass retailer returns management, refurbished product recovery, consumer repairs programs, retail display support, product liability analysis, development equipment sales and commercial product support.

Carrie Schnelker

Schnelker has been promoted to senior director and deputy general counsel. She joined Nintendo's legal department in 2002, and has more than 24 years of experience as a private and in-house attorney. Schnelker, a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, will continue her leadership role with the contracts group and will take on additional responsibilities in the legal department.

Steve Singer

Singer has been promoted to senior director of sales and marketing for Latin America. He joined Nintendo in 1999 after international assignments with Whirlpool Corp. that took him to places like Colombia and Singapore. Singer holds a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and a master's degree in business administration from Michigan State University.

Murray Weir

Weir has been promoted to senior director of supply chain planning. He transferred to Nintendo of America in 2002 after working for Nintendo of Canada for 13 years, where he managed the sales administration, distribution, operations and Canadian services. Weir holds a Professional Logistician (P. Log) designation from the Logistics Institute. In his new role, he will also be responsible for North American logistics planning.

Kevan Wilson

Wilson has been promoted to senior director of sales. He joined Nintendo of America as regional manager in August 2000 and was promoted to director in 2002 when he took on additional responsibility for the Chicago sales team. Prior to joining NOA, Wilson successfully managed the sales and merchandising operations at Nintendo of Canada for six years. While in Canada he served as board member and president of the Canadian Interactive Digital Software Association. He holds a degree from Laurentian University.

Anka Dolecki

Dolecki has been promoted to director of public relations. She will oversee the strategic direction and program management of several key public-relations initiatives, including entertainment public relations and Hispanic outreach. In addition, she will now oversee internal communications. Dolecki joined Nintendo in 1998 after representing The Boeing Co. in international corporate communications.

Casey Pelkey

Pelkey has been promoted to business director of publications. He will direct all activities for Nintendo's online initiatives, including Nintendo.com, product launch sites and the new customer-loyalty program. He also will direct sales and marketing activities for the publications group, including overseeing sales and marketing of players' guides, advertising sales for Nintendo Power(R) and direct and newsstand sales of Nintendo Power. Pelkey began his career with Nintendo more than 14 years ago as a game counselor.