Nintendo of Europe is all change on July 1st as Satoru Shibata departs the company after 18 years as Nintendo of Europe President.  Nintendo has announced that Stephan Bole will be replacing him as Chief Operating Officer/President.

Mr. Bole has previously served as Managing Director of Nintendo France from 2001-2015, Senior Managing Director Corporate Strategy (2009-2015) and Senior Managing Director European Subsidiaries & Affiliates (2015-2018) of Nintendo of Europe.

It is not just the top position that is changing however.  Koji Miyake, currently the General Manager of the Human Resources Department at Nintendo Co., Ltd., will be the new CEO/Chairman of Nintendo of Europe.

The new President will also e supported by Luciano Pereña as CFO and Laurent Fischer as CMO.

These new changes come soon after the retirement of Tatsumi Kimishima who was the Representative Director and President of Nintendo Co., Ltd.  He has been replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa.

Speaking of Satoru Shibata's departure from Nintendo of Europe his successor had this to say:

“To say that Mr Shibata’s contributions have been instrumental to Nintendo’s European operations is an understatement. His efforts over the past 18 years have helped to bring Nintendo products to generations of players across Europe - and beyond. While he will be missed by many, I have full confidence that with our new structure we’ll be able to continue our mission of putting smiles on people’s faces through our unique gaming experiences.”