He replaces Fiona Eastwood, who became the BBC’s commercial arm’s product development director for consumer products in December last year. Lowe will report into Eastwood when he joins in early June.
Lowe’s responsibilities will include helping develop the commercial potential of key consumer products brands and talent including Top Gear, Deadly 60 and Dr Who, which will be marking its fiftieth anniversary next year. His remit will also extend across music, BBC Shop and co-ordinating marketing activity with BBC Worldwide’s book publishing partners.
At Nintendo, Lowe was head of home console marketing in the UK and was also responsible for experiential marketing and partnerships across all of the company’s product lines.
Lowe leaves Nintendo just months after Dawn Paine, marketing director and assistant general manager, who departed the company after ten years to join Universal Pictures UK.
Nintendo says Lowe and Paine’s replacements will be announced “at a later date”.
This year the company is preparing for the global launch of its new console Wii U, which has been billed as the “game changing” successor to the Wii.