Sony Announces New Positions For House, Tretton, Russell

The Japanese-headquartered Sony Corporation has announced a much wider strategic role for Andrew House, formerly executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America, as part of a management reshuffle which has also promoted two senior executives within SCEA itself. According to an official company statement, House has assumed a new role within the wider Sony Group, having been appointed to the newly created position of chief marketing officer and group executive, Sony Corporation, effective immediately. Reporting to Sony head Howard Stringer, House is charged with global responsibility for corporate marketing across all of Sony's businesses, with a primary emphasis on building value in the Sony brand and helping divisions to work together to enhance Sony's relationship with the consumer. According to a statement, House, who led the marketing effort for Sony Computer Entertainment America beginning in March 1996 and was an SCEA EVP since 2002, "will develop a consistent and coordinated marketing approach across segments to represent a united Sony, with special focus on advertising and promotional activities." As a result of this move, two further changes have occurred within SCEA. Jack Tretton has been named co-COO and executive vice president, sales and marketing for the North American division, and will work closely with SCEA boss Kaz Hirai on both strategic positioning and continuing to develop the PlayStation brand and corresponding product family in North America, along with an internal marketing team of close to 80 people. In tandem with his current role, Tretton continues to serve as a corporate executive officer of global parent company Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. In addition, it was announced that Riley Russell has assumed responsibility for the company's third party relations and developer support departments. As head of third party relations and developer support, Russell will be responsible for cultivating relationships and maintaining and growing content alliances with developers and publishers, as well as managing licensee relations and overall strategic product planning in support of all PlayStation platforms in North America, including the PlayStation 3. In addition to his new appointment, Russell continues to serve as the company's general counsel and vice president, business and legal affairs.