Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, is reportedly stepping down from the top position at the company after almost 30 years with Sony across various high-up roles.
Gaming industry reporter Jason Schreier of Bloomberg broke the news first on X, citing two sources that spoke to the outlet. Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz followed up the report with more details, stating that Ryan is retiring and will reportedly depart the company in March 2024.
Dring also reports that the interim President and CEO role will be occupied by Hiroki Totoki, who is currently the company’s Deputy President, CFO, and COO. It’s worth noting Ryan held the Deputy President role prior to ascending to President and CEO in 2019.
Following these initial reports, both Sony and Ryan confirmed the news in separate statements. In the Sony statement regarding “new management structure,” the company thanked Ryan for 30 years of service. Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida called Ryan an “inspirational leader” and singled out Ryan’s oversight of the PS5 launch mid-pandemic, stating it is “on track to become [Sony’s] most successful console yet.”
Ryan stated that the struggles of finding balance between living in the UK and working in the United States led to his retirement decision, but noted he would continue in his role until the end of March 2024, when Totoki will take over as interim CEO.
Over the past year, Ryan has been heavily involved in various efforts to stop Microsoft from acquiring massive games publisher Activision Blizzard, at one point reportedly stating “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.” Months later, head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced that Sony and Microsoft had agreed to a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, and Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is set to be finalized soon.
