Nintendo announced today that President Satoru Iwata (岩田 聡) "passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth." He died at 55. To fans of Pokémon, Mr. Iwata is best known for conducting the Nintendo Direct's that announced many new Pokémon games as well as the Iwata Asks interviews in which he conducted a few specific interviews with the developers of the Pokémon games. He also was a producer on the Pokémon Stadium series and worked as a programmer for Pokémon Gold and Silver.


Source: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2015/150713e.pdf