Sony Ent’s Lynton steps down

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is leaving the firm to join Snap Inc, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat.

Michael Lynton

Lynton has been at the top spot of Sony Pictures for 13 years and led both its entertainment and music groups. He started at Sony in 2004 as chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and in 2012 was named CEO of Sony Entertainment.

In a statement, Lynton said he has been involved with Snapchat since its “early days” and would join the firm “given its growth.” He and his wife are shareholders in the business, which is currently preparing for an IPO.

“I leave Sony with great pride in all we have accomplished together, and confidence that the broad changes we have made and new management team we have assembled over the last few years will strengthen the company overall,” said Lynton, who will now focus on his role full time as Snapchat’s chairman.

“I want to thank Sony Corp – Kaz Hirai 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.”

He will stay on for a six-month transition period as Sony Corp president and CEO Hirai looks for a replacement.

Former Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko, who left the company after its email leaks scandal, is among those being rumoured as a possible successor.

In December, Disney-ABC became the latest TV company to sign up to produce exclusive content for Snapchat.

Amy Pascal quit as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment to launch a Sony-backed production outfit in 2015. Lynton’s tenure included the 2014 email hacking incident, which saw the leak of employees’ social security numbers, emails and propriety information.