Sony Interactive Entertainment Announces Management Structure Changes

Iyane Agossah February 12, 2019 3:20 AM EST

Jim Ryan to become new President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment starting April 2019, with John Kodera as Deputy President.

Sony Corporation and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced today multiple management shifts in the upper echelon of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Starting April 1, 2019, the current Deputy President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, will become the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. At the same time, the current president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera, will step down and become Deputy President of Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to Sony, Kodera will now dedicate himself to “creating innovative user experiences” and will focus on “further enhancing the network area as Deputy President of SIE”.

Simultaneously, Jim Ryan will also endorse the roles of Representative Director and President of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Japan-based legal entity: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., while John Kodera will be the Representative Director and Deputy President.

In short, newly appointed Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan will now decide the overall organization of SIE. He will now report directly to Sony Corporation’s President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.

These decisions have been taken by Kenichiro Yoshida, who shared some comments as well. He affirmed that Sony’s largest business is the game industry and that Jim Ryan will be able to ensure PlayStation platform’s evolution and the growth of PlayStation Network, in order for Sony to keep its position as market leader.

John Kodera also added these decisions were taken after extensive discussions, leading them to the conclusion that Jim Ryan is the best choice to take care of SIE. John Kodera will support Jim Ryan and become the spearhead of SIE’s network area.

Jim Ryan shared some comments as well. He shared how much of an honor it is for him to become SIE’s new president, and how he will fully utilize his experience from seeing PlayStation grow since its early days to strengthen the platform, pushing forward the entertainment provided to its users, to keep making it the “Best Place to Play”.

These structural management changes are quite the surprise and might be the future key to Sony keeping its dominance on the market. From a purely timewise point of view, the announcement is less surprising: In Japan, April is the start of the next fiscal year and is traditionally when new recruits are hired and structural changes are made in big companies.

You can read below the full comments from Kenichiro Yoshida, John Kodera, and Jim Ryan.

Update: This management shift may be hinting that something big is coming from Sony. According to an analyst report, some of the internal studios at Sony already started working on PlayStation 5 games, and it’s possible the console will have backward compatibility.

Comment from Kenichiro Yoshida:

“Our Game & Network Services business has grown into the Sony Group’s largest business in terms of both sales and operating income. Furthermore, our business in this domain holds significant importance as our growth driver going forward. At the same time, this industry is relentlessly fast-moving, and to remain the market leader, we must constantly evolve ourselves with a sense of urgency. Based on extensive discussions with John, I have decided to change the management structure of SIE to ensure sustainable evolution of the PlayStation® platform and further growth of the network area. Jim Ryan has been long committed to the growth of the PlayStation® business for the last 25 years. I believe that this new structure, where Jim will manage SIE’s overall organization and operations, and which will allow John to focus on the key mission to further develop PlayStation™Network (PSN℠) that has now grown into an immensely large platform with over 90 million Monthly Active Users worldwide — will enable SIE to accelerate its innovation and evolution even further. Moving forward, I also have expectations for John to lead the Sony Group’s DX (Digital Transformation) strategy drawing on his wealth of experience with PSN℠, in addition to his mission at SIE.”

Comment from John Kodera:

“I have been discussing with Yoshida-san the need to drive SIE to the next phase in our rapidly changing business environment, and realize the evolution of the PlayStation® platform and further enriching the user experiences made possible through the network, which is an essential value that people expect in the entertainment PlayStation® provides. As a result, we have concluded that the best direction is for Jim to take the helm of the overall management of SIE, and for me to spearhead the network area to continue creating innovative services and experiences, where competition continues to intensify with many new players joining the business. Jim has extensive knowledge around the game business and industry, as well as deep understanding of the PlayStation® culture and strengths. I am confident that he will lead us to greater success as CEO of SIE. I will continue to support Jim by contributing to further strengthening user engagement, and to the overall growth of the PlayStation® business. I also aim to leverage my experience and accumulated expertise to contribute to strengthening the Sony Group’s DX (Digital Transformation) strategy.”

Comment from Jim Ryan:

“It’s a huge honor to be asked to take on the role of President and CEO of SIE. I’ve seen the PlayStation® business grow and change massively since the very early days, and I hope to be able to put that experience to good use in reinforcing the foundations of the Game & Network Service business, and in evolving the entertainment that PlayStation® offers to its engaged and passionate community. Working with John and the SIE team around the world, I am committed to strengthening relations with our business partners, and to continuing to provide the ultimate interactive entertainment experiences that make PlayStation® the Best Place to Play.”