Sony Pictures chief communications officer Robert Lawson is being promoted to lead comms for all of Sony Group Corp.
In his new role as senior VP of corporate communications, Lawson will report to SGC CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, and will be based in Tokyo.
In a note to Sony Pictures staff Wednesday evening, SPE CEO Tony Vinciquerra praised Lawson’s “invaluable strategic advice and counsel at a time of extraordinary change at SPE and throughout our entire industry.”
“Bob has always maintained a strong, collaborative working relationship with SGC leadership and across our Sony sister companies, so this promotion is hardly surprising,” Vinciquerra added. “And his appointment to the SGC leadership team reflects the growing importance of the US-based entertainment companies to SGC’s overall business.”
Lawson starts in his new role April 1, though he will remain in L.A. for at least a few months as SPE transitions to new comms leadership.
His elevation also underscores how Sony wants to make its senior leadership more reflective of the global nature of its business, particularly with film, TV and games now accounting for more than half of the company’s revenue.
The communications executive joined SPE after the 2014 cyberattack to help respond to the crisis, and was named CCO in 2015. His tenure included a period of dramatic change for the entertainment industry, as streaming grew dramatically and with the theatrical film business undergoing substantial change. It also included the COVID-19 pandemic, which served as a shock to the system of Hollywood.