Shawn Layden (born June 25, 1961) is an American businessman. Previously, he served as Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA), and executive vice president and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI).

Career

Layden joined Sony's corporate communications department in 1987 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and was the communications assistant for Sony co-founder Akio Morita for several years. Layden managed international software development at Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio until 1999, when he became vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. After serving almost nine years he became president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan in October 2007, a position which he held until March 2010. In 2010, he was one of the founding members of Sony Network Entertainment International, serving as its executive vice president and COO. In April 2014, Layden succeeded Jack Tretton as president and CEO of SCEA after Tretton stepped down from the position the previous month following a mutual agreement between Tretton and SCEA not to renew Tretton's contract. Following his appointment as President, Layden participated in Sony's conferences at E3 from 2014 to 2018. In March 2018, Layden's role shifted to focus solely on Worldwide Studios, to "provide platform-defining content that helps drive the growth of SIE." Sony announced on September 30, 2019 that Layden was stepping down as chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios. Journalists at the time believed this may have been due to a result of an internal power struggle with SIE President Jim Ryan over the further restructuring and globalization of SIE, However, in September 2021, Layden stated he retired due to exhaustion, believing the launch of the PlayStation 5 was a "good time to put the pin in my legacy." Layden announced in September 2022 that he had joined Tencent Games as a strategic advisor. He has since concluded that relationship as of May 2024.

Personal

Layden graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1983 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in American Studies. He is proficient in Japanese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layden, Shawn 1961 births Living people Sony Interactive Entertainment people Sony people American chief operating officers American video game businesspeople Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni