Andrew House Steps Down as President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sony is shaking up things on the management front with the announcement of a new President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, John Kodera. Kodera will replace Andrew House, who is stepping down from the position. House was the President and CEO of SIE since 2011.

In the official statement from Sony Interactive Entertainment, Kazuo Hirai, the President of Sony Corporation, explained that Kodera will be the acting President and CEO, effectively immediately. Hirai goes on to explain:

When I passed the baton of leadership for Sony Computer Entertainment to Andrew House in 2011, I was confident that I was leaving the PlayStation business in the best possible hands, and so it has proved. I’m extremely grateful to Andy for the great contribution he has made to evolving the PlayStation business, and firmly positioning it as one of the drivers of our future growth. Andy and I go back more than 20 years and spent much of this time together, dedicating ourselves to ensuring the success of the PlayStation business. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution over many years, and wish him every success in the future.

John Kodera has led Sony’s network service business since 2013 and played a pivotal role in its growth. He is a truly global executive, possessing strategic understanding, strength of conviction and outstanding leadership capabilities. Since his appointment as Deputy President of SIE last year, alongside Andy he has also been responsible for the company’s overall business strategy and product planning. With the significance of network services increasing across the entire Sony Group, I believe that John is ideally equipped to build on the foundations Andy has left in place, and drive Sony’s game and network services business to further growth and excitement going forward.

You can read the full press release here.

John Kodera has had a long career with Sony, having started with the company twenty-five years ago in 1992. While he initially began working on Sony’s audio portable devices, Kodera soon became the Vice President of Business and Product Strategy of VAIO America with Sony Electronics (SEL). In 2013, he became President of Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI), overseeing all aspects of network services as they related to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita. It will be interesting to see the direction he takes PlayStation moving forward, especially with a possible PlayStation 5 announcement on the horizon.