SAN FRANCISCO -- Jack Tretton will step down this month as chief executive of Sony (IW 1000/48) Computer Entertainment America, the company announced today.
Tretton's departure as head of the key U.S. division comes as the Japanese entertainment and consumer electronics titan increasingly counts on its PlayStation division to lead a charge back to financial glory.
Tretton will step down effective March 31, turning the job of Sony Computer Entertainment America chief over to Shawn Layden, currently chief operating officer of Sony Network Entertainment International, according to a statement.
Sony's gaming division has emerged as a potential savior for the once-mighty giant, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals like South Korea's Samsung (IW 1000/14).
Reports surfaced last week saying that Sony will sell properties at a prestigious Tokyo site where it had its headquarters for six decades, as the once-world beating firm struggles to improve its bottom line.
Sony warned last month that it would book a $1.08 billion loss in the fiscal year to March as well as cut 5,000 jobs and exit the stagnant PC market.
The embattled company said in January last year it was selling its U.S. headquarters in Manhattan for $1.1 billion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
