Nintendo of America announced today that it is promoting nine executives. Seven have been bumped to senior director level, while two received director titles. In a statement, the company said the promotions acknowledged contributions each staffer had made toward the success of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube. In addition, the allocation of new titles (and expanded areas of responsibility) was made in anticipation of the company's release of its new handheld platform, the DS.

The promotions are as follows: Beth Llewelyn was promoted to senior director of corporate communications and will be handling global communications and investor relations; Robert Matthews will oversee all advertising and consumer research as senior director of consumer marketing; Jon Pedersen moves to senior director of technical services; Carrie Schnelker is now senior director and deputy general counsel; Steve Singer was promoted to senior director of sales and marketing for Latin America; Murray Weir will be the senior director of supply chain planning; Kevan Wilson takes on the role of senior director of sales; Anka Dolecki was promoted to director of public relations and will also handle internal communications; and directing all NoA online initiatives will be Casey Pelkey, who was promoted to business director of publications.

"Each of these employees has made remarkable contributions to Nintendo's success," Tatsumi Kimishima, president of Nintendo of America, said in a statement. The promotions are effective immediately.