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The Sony management structure will see some big changes over the next few months. The company announced via its official blog that several executives will be promoted, retired, or transferred. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) explained the purpose is to “drive growth and innovation.”
SIE Executive Changes
Three new executives will join the Board of Directors of SIE Tokyo. Masayasu Ito will be Representative Director and Deputy President, Takeshi Shibata will be Director, and Lin Tao will be Director and Deputy President. The three new members join Jim Ryan, current President and CEO of SIE.
Finance Changes
After his 40-year tenure with the company, Deputy President and CFO Kazuhiko Takeda will retire from Sony. He previously worked in Europe and the United Kingdom before returning to Japan in 2013. He will remain in his current position until the end of June 2021.
Lin Tao will be the new SVP of Finance, Corporate Development, and Strategy at SIE. Tao worked on the PlayStation business for five years and on Sony’s mobile phone business for seven years. Based in Tokyo, she will begin her new position on July 01, 2021.
Engineering Changes
Former President and CEO of SIE, John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera will transfer to Sony Group Corporation. Back in 2011, Kodera helped form the PlayStation Network along with the PS4 and PS5 user experience. Kodera will now manage digital transformation strategies relating to information technology and information security.
Additionally, the company promoted Hideaki Nishino to SVP of Platform Experience. Based in California, Nishino joined Sony in 2000, where he was involved in product development for both PS4 and PS5. He will now manage design, research and development, and product/platform development.
Lastly, SIE promoted Michael Pattison to SVP of Platform Planning and Management. Based in London, Pattison pushed for indie business partnerships with the company. He will report directly to Nishino.
Recently, Sony management has been making headlines with several of its key creators moving on. We learned in December 2020 that Keiichiro Toyama, creator of Siren and Gravity Rush, left to form his own studio. In the same month, Bloodborne and Demon’s Souls producer Teruyuki Toriyama also departed. Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa left SIE in February 2021. Finally, in March 2021, Bloodborne executive producer Masami Yamamoto also left SIE.
