Illumination Entertainment CEO becomes Nintendo's first Western outside director

In the Nintendo earnings report released yesterday, in addition to confirming that the global sales of Switch have exceeded 81 million units, it also confirmed that it will expand the number of external directors. The newly added external director is Chris Meledandri, the producer of well-known animated films such as "Minions". This change is expected to be a signal that Nintendo will continue to expand its influence in the field of animated films.

Outside directors or non-executive directors are directors who are not employees of the company. They do not participate in the management of the company and mainly make impartial suggestions from a neutral perspective. In addition to the newly added Illumination Animation CEO Chris Meledandri, Nintendo currently has three other outside directors, and Chris Meledandri is Nintendo's first Western outside director.

Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Animation, which created well-known animated films such as "Minions", "Despicable Me" and "The Secret Life of Pets", previously worked at 20th Century Fox for nearly 10 years and later founded Illumination Animation in 2007. The company is currently co-producing a Mario animated film with Nintendo.

According to media reports, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said the company is considering making animations for other games, and said this mainly depends on partners who have a deep understanding of the original work.

The joining of Chris Meledandri may open the door to subsequent cooperation between the two companies and continue to bring animated films adapted from games such as The Legend of Zelda to game and movie lovers.