Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced that SIE President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Ryan will be retiring in March 2024. Sony Group Corporation President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki will take on the role of Chairman of SIE starting October 2023 in order to assist with Ryan’s transition. Totoki will be appointed Interim CEO of SIE effective April 1, 2024 while also maintaining his position at Sony Group Corporation.
Ryan reported that his decision to retire was based on his inability to balance his home life in the United Kingdom with his work in the United States in a blog post on SIE’s official site. Ryan spent nearly thirty years with PlayStation and Sony, starting his career at SIE Europe (SIEE)—known as Sony Computer Entertainment Europe—in 1994. He has held many different positions within the company, including President of SIEE, Head of Global Sales and Marketing at SIE, and Deputy President of SIE. He was appointed President and CEO of SIE on April 1, 2019, marking his career with the successful launch of the PlayStation 5 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He took over from former President and CEO John Kodera.
During the first two years of its launch, Sony struggled to keep the PlayStation 5 in stock, causing years of increased demand by consumers. Even before its launch in 2020, Sony had to issue apologies for the lack of stock for pre-orders of the PlayStation 5.
SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan has been working with Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and Totoki to determine the new management structure.
