Executive Pet: Electronic Arts’ Lola

GAME ON | Matthew McKie, global marketing director for EA Sports FIFA, and Lola playing a game of soccer

And she can be found at Electronic Arts, not the Copacabana. Matthew McKie, who left the U.K. to become global marketing director for EA Sports FIFA, discusses taking his beagle to work 

I was always going to take this job, but the fact that they allowed dogs was the final sort of cherry on top of the cake. I always wanted to have a dog in the U.K., but my work/life balance just wouldn’t allow it.

Lola is very cheeky, lots of fun, very energetic and a sweet dog. I had her as a puppy. She very quickly understood when we’re in the office and I’m at my desk, it’s rest time, and she’ll be quiet and just sleep. When my colleagues or anyone comes to visit, she’ll greet them and then go back to resting or sleeping.

If I have a day which is very full of meetings and I feel like it was a bit boring, I’ll take her to daycare the next day so she can run it out all day, but I pretty much bring her to work every day. I have lots of meetings. It’s a global job so there’s a lot of teleconferences, but if I have a meeting away from my desk she’ll just come. Sometimes she’ll sit on a chair and almost look like she’s participating. Sometimes she’ll just sleep, and if I’m not leading the meeting, she might come and sit on my lap and kind of watch what’s going on in the room. A couple of times a day I’ll take her out. We have dog parks here so I’ll take her out to meet and play with the other dogs. She has lots of friends in the office.

Let’s say you have a stressful meeting or it’s been a long day, it’s kind of nice just to have your dog there to come and say hello or give it a stroke, destress and kind of bring a sense of calm to the office.