Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton Stepping Down

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is set to step down from his role overseeing the film, television and music company, and will focus on his role as Chairman of the Board at social media company Snapchat, according to Billboard.biz. The move is set to happen in six months, and is part of an ongoing shift at Sony.

As part of his letter to Sony colleagues, Lynton said:

As some of you are already aware, I have been involved with Snapchat since its early days. Given Snapchat’s growth – and my growing role and responsibilities in it – I recently determined that the time was right to make a change.

As you are all aware, the landscape of our business continues to shift as never before, and the innovation and commitment shown by all of you at Sony Corp, Pictures and Music to adapt and change with it has been inspiring. I am confident that the broad changes we have made and the terrific new management team we assembled over the last few years will strengthen the company overall, and position it for greater growth in the future.

It has been an extraordinary 13 years and an honor to work at Sony with some of the most talented and creative people in the entertainment space. I want to thank Sony Corp – Kaz and Howard Stringer in particular – for their leadership and support over the years, and our excellent teams at Pictures and Music for their unwavering dedication to producing and distributing outstanding entertainment.

In October, it was announced that Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris will transition to the role of Chairman in April 2017, and will be succeeded by Columbia Records’ Rob Stringer.