Jim Ryan, the head of Sony’s PlayStation division, will retire in March of next year after nearly 30 years with the Japanese company, the company announced on Thursday.
The PlayStation 5’s debut amid the Covid epidemic was overseen by Ryan, who was commended by CEO Kenichiro Yoshida for putting the console “on track to become (Sony’s) most successful console yet.”
Prior to taking the helm as the division’s CEO in 2019, Ryan joined Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) in 1994 and had a number of prominent roles.
“I will leave having been privileged to work on products that have touched millions of lives across the world,” Ryan said in a statement.
He said he was finding it “increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America”.
Hiroki Totoki, group chief operations and financial officer, will take over as SIE’s interim CEO on April 1, according to Sony.
Following the announcement, Sony shares fell 1.33 percent on Thursday amid a market decline.
