Shawn Layden was born on June 25, 1961. He is an American businessman. He has worked as the leader of SIE Worldwide Studios. He also served as the top manager and chief executive officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA). Additionally, he held the position of senior manager and chief operating officer of Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI).

Career

Layden began working in Sony's corporate communications department in Tokyo, Japan, in 1987. He served as a communications assistant for Akio Morita, one of Sony's co-founders, for several years. Later, Layden managed international software development at Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio until 1999, when he became vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. He held this position for nearly nine years before becoming president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan in October 2007. He remained in this role until March 2010. In 2010, Layden was one of the founding members of Sony Network Entertainment International, where he worked as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

In April 2014, Layden became president and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) after Jack Tretton left the position. Tretton had agreed to step down following a mutual decision not to renew his contract. After taking on the role of president, Layden attended Sony's events at E3 from 2014 to 2018.

In March 2018, Layden's responsibilities changed to focus only on Worldwide Studios, where his goal was to create content that would help Sony Interactive Entertainment grow. In September 2019, Sony announced that Layden would no longer serve as chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios. At the time, some journalists thought this change might be related to disagreements between Layden and SIE president Jim Ryan about how to restructure and expand SIE globally. However, in September 2021, Layden explained that he retired because he felt exhausted and believed the release of the PlayStation 5 was a good time to end his career.

In September 2022, Layden joined Tencent Games as a strategic advisor. He ended this role in May 2024.

Personal

Layden graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 with a degree in American Studies. He is skilled in Japanese.