Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) president and CEO Jim Ryan is stepping down after serving as head of PlayStation for five years. Sony announced that he will officially leave his role in March 2024.
The company says that Ryan is stepping down to retire after 30 years with PlayStation. To aid in the transition, Sony Group Corporation President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki will take over as Chairman of SIE in October 2023. On April 1, 2024, Totoki will then step in as interim CEO of SIE while continuing his role at Sony Group Corporation.
“After 30 years, I have made the decision to retire from SIE in March 2024,” Ryan said in a statement. “I’ve relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners. But I’ve found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America. I will leave having been privileged to work on products that have touched millions of lives across the world; PlayStation will always be part of my life, and I feel more optimistic than ever about the future of SIE. I want to thank (Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida) for placing so much trust in me and being an incredibly sensitive and supportive leader.”
Ryan stepped up to the role of head of SIE and PlayStation in 2019. Since then, he has overseen the launch of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) in 2020 and PSVR 2 in 2023. His departure marks the end of a five-year run as the company’s lead.
“Jim Ryan has been an inspirational leader throughout his entire period with us, but never more so than in overseeing the launch of PlayStation 5 in the midst of the global COVID pandemic,” Yoshida said in a statement. “That extraordinary achievement made by the entire SIE team has been steadily built on and PlayStation 5 is on track to become SIE’s most successful console yet. I’m immensely grateful to Jim for all his achievements. Respecting Jim’s decision to finish his long career at Sony leaves me with an important decision regarding his succession given the significance of the Game & Network Services business. We have discussed intensively and have determined the new management structure. We aim to achieve Sony Group’s further evolution and growth through bringing even greater success to the Game & Network Services Business.”
Further plans for Sony and PlayStation have not been revealed. When the company is ready to name a new CEO for SIE, you can be sure to read about it here.
