Early life

Eibler was born July 26, 1955 in Hicksville, New York

Hicksville, New York

Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census...

. He attended Holy Trinity High School

Holy Trinity Diocesan High School

Holy Trinity High School is a co-educational learning environment located centrally in Hicksville, Nassau County, New York on Long Island. Education is based on New York State Education Standards with a strong emphasis on Religious Studies as well...

 where he excelled in basketball and this enabled him to earn an athletic scholarship to Loyola College of Maryland. He was awarded the ECAC Merit Medal in his senior year and graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree..

Tenure at Take-Two Interactive

In July 2000 Eibeler joined Take-Two Interactive as President and Director. In April 2003 he left Take-Two after a medical leave, and returned as president and director in April 2004. In February 2005 Eibeler was named CEO. In March 2007 Eibeler resigned as CEO after a proxy battle.

Most notable events during Eibler's management:

• In July 2005, CEO Eibeler oversaw a Federal Trade Commission investigation in to advertising practices and claims.

• In July 2005, CEO Eibeler oversaw the rating change of best-selling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from "Mature" to "Adult" and the resulting drop in distribution.

• In 2006 CEO Eibeler oversaw investigations into backdating of options for former Take-Two executives which resulted in the company's founder, Ryan Brant pleading guilty and was convicted of a felony.

• Throughout his tenure, CEO Eibeler oversaw a groundswell of political pressure against Take-Two from the political right, and from conservative activist Jack Thompson. Penny Arcade came to Eibeler's defense after attacks by Thompson and donated $10,000 to charity. Thompson has since been disbarred.

• Take-Two grew from $250 million in revenue to over $1.5 billion, the company's market capitalization increased from $250 million to over $1.5 billion and employee numbers grew from 200 to 2000.

• The shareholder base included key funds such as Fidelity, Legg Mason, Seligman, Oppenheimer, etc.

• The company developed over 30 major million unit titles including the Grand Theft Auto
  Grand Theft Auto (series)
  Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
  
   franchise, Midnight Club, Max Payne, Sid Meier
  Sid Meier
  Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
  
  's Civilization, Bioshock, Carnival Games, and maintained premier relationships with the National Football League
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
  , the National Basketball Association
  National Basketball Association
  The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
  
  , the National Hockey League
  National Hockey League
  The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
  
   and Major League Baseball
  Major League Baseball
  Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
  
   through the 2K Sports division.

• Take-Two's stock rose 198% from $7.58 per share in July 2000 to $15.01 a share in April 2003. Upon returning in 2004, shares rose 26% from $23.46 in April 2004 to a high of $29.34 in June 2005.

• In December 2005, Herb Greenberg
  Herb Greenberg
  Herb Greenberg is an American journalist, was a columnist and blogger for MarketWatch.com and a former columnist for The Wall Street Journal....
  
   of the MarketWatch
  MarketWatch
  MarketWatch operates a financial information website that provides business news, analysis and stock market data to some 6 million people. MarketWatch offers personal finance news and advice, tools for investors and access to industry research. Along with its flagship website, the company operates...
  
   picked Eibeler as 'Worst CEO of the Year".

Other roles

Eibeler's professional career includes management and upper management positions for Black and Decker, Imagic (maker of games for Atari), Worlds of Wonder (Teddy Ruxpin), Impact International and Acclaim Entertainment (video game developer and publisher). Prior to joining Take-Two, Eibeler was a member of Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

's Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

launch team. Presently he is chairman of Cokem International, the largest interactive software distribution company and chairman of Viking Products, a leading consumer products licensing company in the Caribbean. Eibeler is also a director and investor of Loud3r, a search engine startup company and advisor to Endeavor Talent Agency. He also advises/consults with several interactive game companies.

On August 3, 2009, SouthPeak Interactive Corporation (OTCBB: SOPK), one of the fastest growing video game publishers, announced that Paul Eibeler, a videogame industry veteran, has joined its Board of Directors. “His depth of experience will certainly be an asset to SouthPeak growth as a major publisher,” said Terry Phillips, Chairman of SouthPeak
.

Personal life

Eibeler is married to his wife of 30+ years, Mary, and has three children. He currently lives in Long Island and is Vice Chairman of Long Island's Alzheimer's Foundation.