Officials from Sony’s central Japanese games division Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) have announced a wide range of corporate reshuffles that will see new roles for Ken Kutaragi, Kaz Hirai and Jack Tretton.
Ken Kutaragi, the so-called “father of PlayStation”, has been appointed as chairman, giving up his role as president to Kaz Hirai but retaining his position as group CEO. Previously president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Hirai will also become group COO of SCEI from December 1st, 2006.
The company also announced the appointment of Akira Sato, a member of the SCEI board of directors, as vice chairman, and David Reeves, president, CEO and co-COO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), as deputy president of SCEI, in addition to his current responsibility at SCEE, also effective from December 1st.
The nine SCEI members of the board of directors now includes: Ken Kutaragi (chairman and group CEO), Akira Sato (vice chairman), Kaz Hirai (president and group COO), Masaru Kato (deputy president and group CFO), David Reeves (deputy president), Howard Stringer, Ryoji Chubachi, Kenshi Manabe and Shigeo Maruyama.
At the same time, SCEA has announced that Jack Tretton has been named president and CEO of the American division, replacing Kaz Hirai. Tretton was formerly SCEA executive vice president and co-COO.
"Jack has been with SCEA since its formation and helped pilot the debuts of the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PSP and the successful launch of the recently released PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system," said Hirai. "Given his experience and exceptional reputation in the industry, I can think of no better person to assume the helm of the PlayStation brand in the US, Canada and Latin America."
"I am determined to build upon the momentum that Kaz and the entire SCEA staff has developed for the entire PlayStation family of products here in the US over the years," said Tretton. "Moving forward, we will remain focused on the continued market leadership of the PlayStation brand, driving consumer demand for the new PS3, and existing platforms such as PSP and PS2, which continue to excel in the marketplace."
