A meeting with Games Workshop CEO Mark Wells

I have been a Games Workshop fan since 1998 when my two little nephews made me buy them a set of painted Space Marines from Matt Sabol (of Sabol Army Transport) at DragonCon in Atlanta.  Since then I have been a huge fan and never-ending supporter of GW.  Oh sure the latest round of price increases get me going, but Games Workshop provides me the biggest hobby in my hobby-filled life and I have probably enriched them to the tune of $ 20,000 over the past three years, especially because of Forgeworld!  I love the game and make no secret of it.

So the other day while picking up some Blood Angels Terminator Sanguinary Priests painted by a buddy, I was introduced by James Bell, LA Battle Bunker manager, to Mark Wells, Games Workshop CEO. Now, I would venture that most gamers would not get that opportunity, but I am know how to handle myself with another business professional.  Mr. Wells was over from the UK on one of his regular visits to the US, and was visiting the Bunker with the head of North American Retail.  Despite the fact that I had just left the gym and was in shorts and an Imperial Fist yellow t-shirt, James Bell introduced me to them.

So what was Mr. Wells like?  Well, a total gentleman and a fan of the game.  A man who knows his audience and is a gamer himself.  A father whose two teenage boys play and someone who loves the game.  A person who I would enjoy sitting at a pub and talking the game with.  Not what you expected, eh?  

Old time gamers love to envision a company in Games Workshop that is run by two groups, suits and gamers.  Bean counters and hard core gamers.   That there is a schism between these two groups who fight to control the company.  So it would be a surprise to gamers to find a CEO who genuinely loves and plays the game and who hobbies and plays with his sons.

Now we didn't talk business at all, other than for me to tell him how important Forgeworld and Black Library are to their business, and my experience with 40K, a fact he heartily agreed was important to GW.  (Oh I also told him how great a manager James Bell is...because James truly is the best game store manager in the universe).

We stood in front of the cabinet at the Bunker that holds many of my best Crimson Templar models (and Tom McBride's huge IG Leviathan) and talked the game.  We talked what made the game fun and the nature of gaming.  We chatted about competition vs. fun, and we talked a lot about Apocalypse.

It was a total pleasure, and I feel even better about Games Workshop now that I have gotten to meet its CEO because he understands gamers.  He gets it.  Plus, I think our conversation helped change my understanding of my own thought processes about Games Workshop.  Because recently, after 14 years of being a total GW fanboy I have come to complain about the continuing price increases, Finecast and such.  Now there is a face to the faceless corporate monolith that is Games Workshop, my favorite company in the whole world (yes, more than Apple!).  And that sheds new light on the company and the decisions they make.  I still don't like the price increases, but next time I read GW's quarterly or annual report (which I do every time they come out), and read Mark's words I will have a better feel for them and know the insight that is going into those decisions.

I have had interactions with two previous GW North America CEOs and a bunch of people inside the studio at GW Nottingham, and have always found everyone I meet in GW engaging and passionate.  It's nice to know the CEO is the same.

Alec

 

In case you were interested in Mr. Well's bio, here it is:

Mr. Mark N. Wells has been Chief Executive Officer of Games Workshop Group plc since December 3, 2007. Mr. Wells held various management roles with Next PLC and Boots Group PLC,, including Director of Customer Service, Boots The Chemists and Director of Merchandise and Marketing, Boots Stores, Netherlands. Mr. Wells joined Games Workshop in May 2000 as director of strategy and planning. He has been an Executive Director of Games Workshop Group plc since December 3, 2007. He qualified as a solicitor with Messrs Herbert Smith. Mr. Wells holds M.A. in Law from St Johns College, Cambridge (Exhibition) and, MBA from Sterling University.