Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive President and CEO, has announced his retirement, after nearly three decades working in various capacities for Sony and its PlayStation business. While initially reported by Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier, the move was swiftly confirmed by Sony itself, in a press release detailing incoming management changes.
Per this release, Ryan will officially step down from his role in March 2024, with Sony Group Corporation President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki stepping in to assume the role of Chairman of SIE, as of October 2023. Following Ryan’s departure, Totoki will also assume the role of Interim CEO of SIE.
Totoki will then “work closely” with Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and the wider team at SIE to “help define the next chapter of PlayStation’s future, including the succession of the SIE CEO role.”
As noted in the press release, Jim Ryan has had an impressive tenure at Sony, helming work at PlayStation in senior positions for sales and marketing, before cementing himself as one of the public-facing leaders of SIE.
Read: Sony has sold over 40 million PS5 consoles so far
While the timing of his retirement comes as a surprise, given the ongoing success of PlayStation, Ryan’s reasons for leaving are clear. In a statement, he described Sony as a “very special company” but said that maintaining work-life balance was proving increasingly difficult, due to time zone complications.
“I’ve relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners,” Ryan said. “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 Yoshida-san for placing so much trust in me and being an incredibly sensitive and supportive leader.”
For its part, Sony has thanked Ryan for his long tenure, with the press release including warm comments from Kenichiro Yoshida and Hiroki Totoki, who both expressed “heartfelt gratitude” for Ryan’s contributions to the company.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Jim Ryan for his outstanding achievements and contributions over his 30-year career at Sony, including the great success of launching the PlayStation 5,” Totoki said.
“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,” said Yoshida. “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.”
