4:33:00 AM
.
[Tokyo, Japan – January 14, 2017 / Culver City, California – January 13, 2017]
Sony Corporation announced today that Michael Lynton will step down as
Corporate Executive Officer of Sony Corporation and CEO of Sony
Entertainment in charge of its Pictures and Music businesses effective
as of February 2, 2017, to be Chairman of the Board of Snap Inc.
For
the next six months, Mr. Lynton will stay on as Co-CEO of Sony
Entertainment, overseeing the Pictures and Music businesses, and as CEO
of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Corporation of America, to work
with Sony Corporation’s President and CEO Kazuo Hirai to find a
replacement, in particular for the leadership of Sony Pictures
Entertainment. During the transition, Mr. Lynton will work closely with
Mr. Hirai, who will take on the additional title of Chairman and Co-CEO
of Sony Entertainment. Mr. Hirai will also have a second office at SPE’s
offices in Culver City, California, to oversee the management of the
entertainment companies, namely Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music
Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, as well as Sony Corporation
of America.
"It has been an extraordinary 13 years and an
honor to work at Sony with some of the most talented and creative people
in the entertainment space," said Lynton. "I have been involved with
Evan and Snapchat since its early days, and given its growth since then,
decided the time was right to transition and focus on my role as
Chairman of the Board of Snap Inc. I leave Sony with great pride in all
we have accomplished together, and confidence that the broad changes we
have made and new management team we have assembled over the last few
years will strengthen the company overall. I want to thank Sony Corp. –
Kaz Hirai and Howard Stringer in particular – for their leadership and
support over the years, and our excellent teams at Pictures and Music
for their unwavering dedication to producing and distributing
outstanding entertainment."
"I want to thank Michael for his
strong leadership and dedication to Sony throughout his long and
illustrious career with the company," said Hirai. "The entertainment
industry continues to undergo some of the most transformative changes it
has ever seen, and Michael’s vast experience and expertise in the
entertainment and media space has been invaluable in charting a path
forward through this new landscape. Particularly the broad structural
and management changes Michael has recently implemented will help our
music business sustain its strong momentum, and the pictures business to
set the path for restoring profitability and future growth, though we
recognize current challenges in motion pictures business and its
turnaround will take some time. As we look ahead, we see our
entertainment businesses as essential parts of Sony, and I look forward
to working with Michael towards a smooth transition."
Mr. Lynton
will step down after 13 years with Sony. He began in 2004 as Chairman
and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and in 2012 was named CEO of
Sony Entertainment, expanding his oversight to include Sony Pictures and
also the music companies, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music
Publishing. In April 2016, he was appointed as Corporate Executive
Officer of Sony Corporation in charge of the Pictures and Music
businesses. He has led each of the entertainment companies through a
period of significant change in the film, television and music
industries by focusing on digital transformation, reorientation to
global audiences, content diversity and the creation of new distribution
platforms.
