Andrew House
| Andrew House | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 January 1965 Wales, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Education | Oriel College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Employer | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Title | Former President and Global CEO; former chairman |
| Known for | Leading Sony's PlayStation business; launch of the PlayStation 4 |
Andrew House (born 23 January 1965) is a Welsh businessman and the former chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), who also served as the company's President and Global Chief Executive Officer. House spent close to three decades inside Sony's gaming operations, moving from a communications role in Tokyo to leadership of the division responsible for the PlayStation business worldwide.
Early life and education
House grew up in Weston-super-Mare, in Wales. He studied English language and literature at Oriel College, Oxford, then moved to Tokyo in 1990 to join Sony. House is fluent in Japanese and has conducted many of Sony's public conferences and media interviews in the language. He is married and has two children.
Career
Sony Computer Entertainment, 1990 to 2009
House joined Sony in 1990, working in the Tokyo-based corporate communications department. In 1995 he transferred to the marketing and communications division of Sony Computer Entertainment, contributing to the launch of the original PlayStation. In March 1996 he was promoted to Vice President of Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), and in 2002 to Executive Vice President of SCEA. From 2005 to 2009 House served as chief marketing officer of Sony Corporation.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, 2009 to 2011
In 2009 House took charge of the PlayStation business across nearly 100 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, serving as co-chief executive and then chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE).
President and Group CEO, 2011 to 2016
On 1 September 2011, House became President and Group Chief Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who moved up to lead Sony Corporation itself the following year. In 2013 House led the conference at which Sony revealed the PlayStation 4, and he appeared at the console's launch event in New York that November.
Chairmanship and departure, 2016 to 2017
In April 2016 House was named representative director, President and Global Chief Executive Officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the renamed successor to Sony Computer Entertainment. In October 2017 he became chairman of the SIE board, and that year he announced he would step down as head of the company at year end. House is now described as the former chairman of SIE.
Later directorships
House was appointed an outside director of Nissan Motor in June 2019 and an outside director of Dentsu Group in March 2022.
Assessment
House built his career inside a single corporate family, Sony, over more than 25 years, rising from a communications post to the leadership of its games division during the period spanning the original PlayStation through to the PlayStation 4. His fluency in Japanese was distinctive for a Welsh executive leading a Tokyo-headquartered company and allowed him to represent Sony directly to Japanese media and at international trade events. His later appointments as an outside director at Nissan and Dentsu suggest continued standing within Japanese corporate governance after he left SIE's day-to-day leadership. The available sources are biographical rather than evaluative, and record no controversy or criticism attached to House's tenure.