Lawrence Francis Probst III (born June 3, 1950) is an American businessman who is best known for his work with the video game publisher
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
, including acting as CEO from 1991 until 2007 and as executive chairman from 2013–14. He remains chairman of EA and served as chairman of the
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...
until 2019.
Life
Probst was born on July 6, 1950. He is the son of Ruth (née Gallagher) and Lawrence Francis Probst II. He and his wife Nancy have two sons. He earned a bachelor's degree from the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
.
Entertainment career
Probst worked for
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
and
Clorox
The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...
before being recruited into the
video game industry
The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide.
The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...
through
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
in 1982. Two years later he joined EA as vice president for sales until 1986. He then took on the role of the company's senior vice president of the publishing division from 1986–90. He was promoted to president of
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
in 1990, remaining in that position until 1997. During this time, he was also pronounced CEO of
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
in 1991, which he held onto until April 2007. ''
Next Generation'' named his one of the "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995", remarking that "Probst may not be as colorful a character as his predecessor
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When_president_(corporate_title).html" "title="Trip_Hawkins">Trip_Hawkins.html" ;"title="Trip_Hawkins.html" ;"title="Trip Hawkins">Trip Hawkins">Trip_Hawkins.html" ;"title="Trip Hawkins">Trip Hawkins but he does seem adept at combining the freedom and daring of creativity with the restraints and common sense of a commercial operation."
When president (corporate title)">president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and chief operating officer John Riccitiello resigned in April 2004, Probst became his successor. Riccitiello was re-hired as CEO in 2007, he retained his non-operational duties as chairman. He then worked as executive chairman of Electronic Arts Inc. from March 18, 2013, to January 1, 2015, and former
of the company.
According to EA's 2005 Annual Report, Probst is the biggest individual shareholder in EA, owning 739,761 shares and the right to acquire a further 3.1 million, which combined accounts for 1.2 percent of the company. Probst sits on the boards of two cancer research groups: the V Foundation and ABC2.
In addition to his work at
, Probst also served as the chairman of Digital Entertainment Corporation of America.
chairman of the board. Five years after his appointment as chairman of the USOC, Probst was elected as an
in September 2013. Probst worked with many other IOC groups as well. Probst has served on the IOC International Relations and the IOC Radio and Television Commissions. He assumed the position of chair of the IOC Press Commission in 2014. At the end of 2018 Probst ceased to be a member of the IOC.