Andrew Wilson

Electronic Arts was left for dead a few years ago, amid proclamations that companies that design games for consoles were toast. The company endured four years of brutal losses—a total of $2.5 billion—before stabilizing. Wilson took over in September 2013 and sought to unify the struggling company around what he calls a “player-first culture”: Rigorous in quality but agnostic as to platform (in many cases combining elements of more than one). Sales of EA’s core console games have come roaring back even as the company ramps up digital sales. After its years in blood red, in 2014 EA racked up $875 million in earnings, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. Profits are still humming, and another stellar potential hit looms: EA is about to release its new Star Wars Battlefront game.