Shawn Layden

Layden is the former chairman of PlayStation Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), where he was responsible for driving first-party content to differentiate the PlayStation platform and played a key role in launching PlayStation consoles globally. He also established PlayStation Productions, in Culver City, to create film and television properties based on PlayStation’s game IP. Prior to serving as chairman, Layden was CEO of SIE America, leading the PlayStation business in the Americas. Earlier in his career, he also served as president of SIE Japan and was vice president for International Software Development at SIE Europe. His 32-year career with Sony began with corporate roles in Tokyo, including five years as personal assistant to Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony Corporation. He currently advises several tech start-ups in game adjacent fields and is a founding board member of the Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund. Layden graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in American Studies. He has family in Tokyo and London and divides his time amongst those cities and the San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently resides with his two cats. He still plays a lot of videogames.