Kenji Matsubara has served as the President of Sega since 2017. In April of this year, Matsubara added the role of Chief Publishing Officer to his duties. Today, the executive resigned from both roles at the company for “personal reasons.” Sega has yet to publicly identify Matsubara’s replacement.
Matsubara originally joined the Sega family in the fall of 2014 as the CTO for Sega Networks Company. Over time he moved up through the ranks of the gaming division, becoming President in April 2017.
Before climbing to the top at Sega, Matsubara’s humble beginnings saw him spend more than a decade as a Hitachi engineer. After leaving his post there, Matsubara made his way to Oracle Japan, where he served as Vice President for more than four years. Tecmo Koei Holdings named him President late in 2001. Another decade would pass before he took on the role of President and CEO of Zynga Japan in early 2011. Matsubara departed his Zynga Japan post two years later, then returned to the industry full time in October 2014 to join Sega.
Sega has undergone quite the boon in recent years, thanks to the growing popularity of its properties. Sonic seems among the most notable examples, but not just in games. Earlier this year, Sonic The Hedgehog released a feature film to global success. In fact, the movie garnered so much success at the box office that a sequel has already received the green light from Paramount Pictures.
Of course, 2020 also marks the 60th anniversary of the company.
[Source: Sega Sammy Holdings via GamesIndustry.biz]
