Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (born 26 September 1962), also known as Olaf Olafsson, is an Icelandic businessman and writer. He is best known for his tenure at Sony and his leadership in the creation of the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

video game console.

Personal life

Olafsson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland on 26 September 1962 to Anna Jónsdóttir and writer Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson. He studied physics as a Wien Scholar at Brandeis University. He lives in New York City with his wife Anna Ólafsdóttir and three children.

Literary career

He is the author of three previous novels, ''The Journey Home'', '' Absolution'' and ''

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'', and a story collection, ''

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''. He also wrote the play ''The Feast of the Snails'', albeit to mixed reviews. His books have been published to critical acclaim in more than twenty languages. Olafsson is the recipient of the O. Henry Award and the Icelandic Literary Award, was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize, and has twice been nominated for the

IMPAC Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

Business career

Olafsson began a career at Sony in 1985, where he rose through several positions. In 1991, he founded Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., and became its first president and chief executive officer. Sony Computer was established as a free-functioning unit of Sony Corporation. Olafsson built and managed its businesses in the United States and Europe. During his six-year tenure, he directed the worldwide operations of Sony's entertainment software and hardware divisions and was responsible for the creation and launch of the

console, which would go onto generate major sales and profits for Sony Interactive. However, Olafsson clashed with higher-ups over the PlayStation's pricing as he favoured lower price on the console. The intense feuding caused him to lose support within the company and he was forced to resign in 1996. Olafsson became a member of the board of directors of

Advanta Advanta (TSO Financial until 1988) was an American banking company. It controlled two banks, Advanta Bank Corp and Advanta National Bank. (It is not associated with Advanta Energy Corp., a California energy consultancy.) Growth Advanta began in 195 ...

Corporation, a specialty finance company, in 1997, and became Advanta's president in March 1998.Advanta Hires Sony Playstation Chief as President
/ref> Olafsson left Advanta in 1999 to join Time Warner as Vice Chairman of Digital Media.Advanta president resigns
/ref> He briefly left the company after its merger with

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

, which formed the short-lived AOL Time Warner. He returned at the request of CEO

Richard D. Parsons Richard Dean Parsons (born April 4, 1948), an American business executive, is the former chairman of Citigroup and the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner. He stepped down as CEO of Time Warner on December 31, 2007. He was previously the in ...

after Time Warner executives reasserted control over the company. He was later given the title of Executive Vice President. With the AT&T purchase of Time Warner, Olafsson and several other Time Warner executives left the combined company.

Books

* '' Absolution'' (Pantheon, 1994) * ''The Journey Home'' (Pantheon, 2000). - Palomar Pictures has considered adapting ''The Journey Home'' (Slóð fiðrildanna) as a film. * ''

'' (Pantheon, 2003) * ''

'' (Random House, 2007). - Won the 2006 Icelandic Literary Prize for fiction. * '' Restoration'' (Harper Collins: Ecco, 2012) * ''One station away'', (New York, NY : Ecco, 2017) * ''The Sacrament'' (HarperCollins, 2019) * ''Touch'' (HarperCollins, 2022)

References

External links

Olaf Olafsson's Official WebsiteOlaf's Facebook PageBokmenntir on him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafsson, Olafur Johann 1962 births Living people Olafur Johann Olafsson Olafur Johann Olafsson Sony people Brandeis University alumni Olafur Johann Olafsson