Mike Fischer brings to his role as interim president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences more than twenty years of video games experience. Fischer has been tasked in taking the helm of the professional organization in November 2016, championing the multi-billion-dollar video game industry by raising awareness and celebrating the accomplishments of individuals, games, companies and organizations/associations. As President of the AIAS, he is the voice of the Academy and its membership of more than 35,000 video games industry professionals. He will oversee the upcoming 2017 D.I.C.E. Summit and the 20th D.I.C.E. Awards, which will take place February 21-23 at The Delano Las Vegas in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Fischer has held numerous international executive positions, spanning the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. Currently Fischer serves on the board of video game start-up Matcherino, an eSports crowdfunding company and is chairman of CloudGate, a VR development studio.
Most recently Fischer held management positions as the Head of Publishing at Epic Games, VP of Digital Video and Music at Amazon Japan, CEO and President of Square Enix America and Head of US Marketing for Xbox. Fischer’s first game industry job was as a Product Manager at Sega in Tokyo where he eventually worked through the ranks to become Vice President, Entertainment Marketing for Sega of America.
Fischer graduated from the California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Economics and a concentration in Econometrics. He is fluent in Japanese.