Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced its new CEO, Ravi Ahuja. However, the Indian-origin leader will not take the chair until 2025. Currently, Tony Vinciquerra is the chairman and CEO and he will step down. He will manage the post till 2025. Subsequently, Ahuja, who was earlier elevated to President and Chief Operating Officer (COO)-- a move meant to position him as successor to Vinciquerra.
"Ahuja, SPE's current Chairman of Global Television Studios and President and COO, will take over from SPE Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra, who will step down from his role as SPE CEO," Sony group said in a statement. Vinciquerra will remain in an advisory role for SPE as non-executive Chairman until the end of December 2025, it added.
Who is Ravi Ahuja?
Since joining SPE, Ahuja has also overseen SPE's Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activities, including the acquisitions of award-winning nonfiction entertainment company Industrial Media, leading UK production company Bad Wolf and VFX company, Pixomondo, as well as the sale of GSN Games to Scopely, the group said.
Prior to joining SPE, Ahuja was President of Business Operations and CFO of Walt Disney Television.
Before that, he was in positions of increasing authority, including CFO, at the Fox Networks Group, and Virgin Entertainment Group, Inc.
"Since joining SPE in 2021, Ravi has been at the centre of Tony's leadership team, navigating the unprecedented challenges of today's media and entertainment environment and positioning SPE for further growth," Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said.
He further said, "Ravi brings with him years of experience from his time at some of the world's most successful entertainment companies, and we look forward to working more closely with him in his new role as President and CEO of SPE."
Vinciquerra had joined SPE in June 2017 and has led the company's turnaround with five consecutive years of increasing profit by strengthening SPE's film slate, reimagining SPE's television businesses, and with aggressive M&A in key growth areas, such as anime with the acquisition of Crunchyroll in 2021, the statement said.
(With inputs from agency)
ALSO READ: Sony layoff: 900 employees to lose jobs from PlayStation gaming division
