Ravi Ahuja replaces Tony Vinciquerra as Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO

New Delhi: Sony Group Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) announced that SPE Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra will step down from his role as SPE CEO and that Ravi Ahuja, SPE’s current Chairman of Global Television Studios and President and COO, will assume leadership of SPE as President and CEO, effective January 2, 2025. 

Vinciquerra will remain in an advisory role for SPE as non-executive chairman until the end of December 2025. Ahuja will report to Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and Sony Group Corporation President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki.

Vinciquerra 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. 

In a press statement, the company said, “Vinciquerra’s strategic decisions to divest most of SPE’s international cable networks as that market began to deteriorate, and to not jump into the overcrowded streaming space with a general entertainment streaming service, has kept SPE profitable during a time of unprecedented industry change.” 

Ahuja joined SPE in 2021 to oversee all Sony Pictures Television (SPT) production businesses and the studio’s India business as Chairman of Global Television Studios. 

Since joining SPE, Ahuja has also overseen its M&A activities, including the acquisitions of nonfiction entertainment company Industrial Media, UK production company Bad Wolf, and VFX company Pixomondo, as well as the sale of GSN Games to Scopely.

Before joining SPE, Ahuja was President of Business Operations and CFO of Walt Disney Television. He also held positions of increasing authority, including CFO, at Fox Networks Group and Virgin Entertainment Group, Inc. 

“The extraordinary turnaround at SPE over the last 10 years would not have been possible without Tony’s deep experience and expertise in the entertainment space, his strategic vision and his outstanding leadership,” said Yoshida. “Under Tony’s watch, SPE became a critically important part of our efforts to maximize the value of our IP and find synergies across all our entertainment and technology businesses, and it remains a key driver in Sony Group’s ongoing corporate strategies to lean further into the creative and entertainment spaces. I want to thank Tony for his years of dedication and leadership at SPE and for his invaluable support across the group companies during his successful career at Sony.”

Yoshida continued, “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. 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.”

“When I stepped into this role seven and a half years ago, I would’ve never imagined the extraordinary industry disruption and opportunity we’d face,” said Vinciquerra. “I’m filled with immense gratitude for this exceptional company and its profound legacy in Hollywood history. I’m consistently inspired by my brilliant and resolute colleagues. Together, against the odds, we achieved remarkable success and have consistently proven that this is a community built on passion and resilience. Thank you for making these past seven and a half years the most gratifying of my career. My sincere appreciation goes to Kazuo Hirai for offering me this opportunity in 2017, and to Kenichiro Yoshida and Hiroki Totoki for their leadership and unwavering trust and support over the years. I have the utmost confidence that SPE will continue to thrive in the years ahead and know that Ravi is the right leader to take SPE forward.”

“It is my privilege and honour to take the helm at SPE,” said Ahuja. “This is a special place -- an iconic studio with an extraordinary 100-year history of storytelling. Thanks to Tony’s remarkable leadership, we have led businesses with clear strategies and are set up for even greater success in the years to come. I am energized by the opportunities ahead and am lucky to work alongside thousands of talented colleagues around the world at SPE and at our Sony sister companies. I am grateful for Tony’s mentorship, guidance and friendship through the decades, and I thank Yoshida-san and Totoki-san for entrusting me with this important role.”