Sony CEO Jack Tretton Steps Down; Sony Vice President Shawn Layden To Take Over

Boston native Jack Tretton, 53, stepped down from his role as the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America on March 6. Tretton plans to leave on March 31 after nearly two decades at the company.

Tretton will be replaced by Shawn Layden, who is the current executive VP and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International. Layden has been with Sony for 14 years.

“Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” Tretton said in a statement. “I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength, and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation.”

Tretton graduated from Rhode Island’s Providence College with a science degree and began working for Duracell in 1983. He joined Sony in 1995 and was a member of the team that began work on the original PlayStation that year. He was also deeply involved with the development of the PS2, PS3, PS Vita, PSP and PlayStation Move.

He was promoted to President and CEO in 2006.

Tretton is well-known for saying a number of somewhat controversial remarks, such as referring to the Wii as a “lollipop” and the Xbox 360 as an “unreliable cook.” When promoting the PS Vita, he called its competitor, the Nintendo 3DS, a “great babysitting tool.”