Nintendo: Kaplan departing, Fils-Aime honored

George Harrison was first. Then, it was Beth Llewellyn's turn. Now, Perrin Kaplan, the last of Nintendo of America's "big three" marketing and publicity team has announced that she, too, is punching out of the Mario Factory. Though she did not reveal an end date, the soon-to-be former vice president marketing & corporate affairs said that she will have parted ways with her employer of over 15 years by year's end.

"Until then, I am focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of my normal responsibilities as well," Kaplan explained in an e-mail sent to members of the press. "It's been an absolutely brilliant run with Nintendo and I've enjoyed so much of it and feel very lucky."

Kaplan did not specifically give a reason for her departure. Presumably, though, it is related to Nintendo's decision earlier in the year to relocate its marketing and communications operations to New York City and Redwood City, California. In July, job listings for the latter location showed Kaplan and former director of communication Llewellyn's positions as being open.

One executive who's definitely not going anywhere is NOA CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aime. This week, the outspoken booster of all things Wii and DS was named "Grand Marketer of the Year" by BrandWeek magazine. "He's a larger-than-life character. The bloggers love him because he's prone to outbursts," Forrester Research analyst Paul Jackson told the magazine. "They have likened him to Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris and one agency exec refers to him as the 'Reggie-nator.'"