AIAS names Mike Fischer president
Former exec with Microsoft, Square Enix, and Epic tapped to lead DICE Summit organizer
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has a new president in Mike Fischer. The organization behind the DICE Summit and DICE Awards today announced Fischer as the replacement for Martin Rae, who left in October to join a VR livestreaming startup.
While Fischer will be responsible for overseeing the AIAS, he is holding on to a number of other obligations in the industry. Fischer co-founded two studios this year alone, Chicago-based VR startup CloudGate Studio and San Diego's Hero Machine Studios. He serves as chairman for the former outfit and is a board member with the latter. Additionally, he is an advisor for TheWaveVR and has a spot on the board of directors for eSports streaming-focused Matcherino.
While his current positions are very much focused on potentially huge growth areas in gaming, Fischer's work history sports plenty of experience in the traditional console market. He held marketing executive positions with Namco Bandai Games America, Sega of America, and Microsoft before being named president and CEO of Square Enix in 2010. He also served a brief stint with Epic Games as head of publishing in 2015.
"On behalf of the AIAS Board of Directors, I'm pleased to welcome Mike as the new Academy president," AIAS chairman Min Kim said. "After a careful selection process, the Board felt that Mike's passion for the industry and his international experience will greatly benefit in helping grow our global reach and influence. We are fortunate to have an industry veteran like him lead the Academy."