EA CCO Bing Gordon departs

For the past 25 years, William "Bing" Gordon has been a staple at publishing giant Electronic Arts. No longer. Venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers announced today that EA's longtime chief creative officer would be joining its ranks as partner beginning in June.

Gordon, who joined EA when the publisher was still a startup in 1982, oversaw the creation of many of the publisher's hallmark franchises, including Madden NFL, The Sims, and Need for Speed. At Kleiner Perkins, the former exec will lend the VC firm insight into the entertainment and consumer-technology sectors. Gordon will also maintain his relationship with his former employer as chief creative officer emeritus, "leading periodic workshops on innovation with EA Studio leaders."

Speaking to Newsweek, Gordon attributed his reasons for leaving EA to a variety of factors. Familiarity with the VC firm was his leading reason, saying, "I've known the leading partners at Kleiner since John Doerr and Brook Byers made a founding investment in Electronic Arts in '82." Gordon also said that emergent technologies were of particular interest to him, and that he had a simple desire to move on after his extended tenure with the publisher.

"I've got 15 more years to do something--might be cool to do something else," he told Newsweek.