Press release: 1997-03-17: Sega Promotes Bernie Stolar To COO

This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below. Language: English Original source: Sega.com (archived)

SEGA PROMOTES BERNIE STOLAR TO COO

REDWOOD CITY, CA - March 17, 1997 --
Sega of America (SOA) today announced that Bernie Stolar will be responsible for Sega's North American consumer business operations as the company's new chief operating officer (COO). Most recently, Stolar was executive vice president of product development and third party licensing at SOA and president and COO of Sega Entertainment, Inc., which publishes PC games based on Sega's arcade, sports and character properties. Stolar will retain his position as president and COO of Sega Entertainment.

Departments reporting to Stolar include sales, marketing, operations, information technology, finance, communications, product development, third party licensing and product licensing. Stolar will report to the company's chief executive officer and chairman Shoichiro Irimajiri, along with the executives who are responsible for legal, administration and business planning departments.

"Bernie brings more than 20 years of video game industry experience to this position," said Irimajiri. "His knowledge of game development, combined with an intuitive understanding of what motivates the gaming audience, will be a tremendous asset for Sega as the video game console business expands in the years to come."

Prior to joining Sega in July 1996, Stolar was executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), where he played a key role in launching the Sony PlayStation video game system. Stolar's career in the video game industry involves founding and directing a number of coin-operated arcade unit companies and serving as president of the Lynx division at Atari Corporation.

Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Enterprises Ltd. Responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega video game systems and video games in the Americas. Sega Enterprises Ltd. Is a nearly $3.6 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home. Sega of America's World Wide Web site is located at (http://www.sega.com).