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Sega appoints new execs, aligns Western markets

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

sonicSonic the Hedgehog has a new boss.

Sega said today it has made a couple of executive appointments to fill the gap after the departure of Simon Jeffery, the Sega of America president who resigned to join iPhone game maker Ngmoco.

First, Naoya Tsurumi will assume worldwide responsibility for Sega’s consumer business, which includes Sega of Japan, Sega of America and Sega of Europe.

Meanwhile, Mike Hayes, who is president of the European operation, will become president and chief operating officer of both Sega of America and Sega of Europe. He will report to Tsurumi. The moves will align the Western markets and increase collaboration among territories.

Jeffery served for four years as president and COO of Sega of America, helping it move into new Western game markets as it transitioned out of hardware into software. Tsurumi has served in a variety of Sega roles since 1992.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.