Sega names new president, COO

Sega of America announced today that Hideaki Irie has joined the company as both president and chief operating officer effective October 1, 2003. In his new role, Irie will be responsible for all of Sega's console software gaming business in North America.

"Hideaki has the leadership skills and experience to oversee all aspects of Sega of America, and we look forward to having him ensure the success of...our business in North America," said Hisao Oguchi, president of Sega Corporation.

Irie has been involved in the video game industry for 20 years, including 15 years in management positions with US-based game publishers.

Most recently, he was a founder, president, and CEO for game publisher Agetec and oversaw the release of such games as Eternal Ring, Disaster Report, Space Channel 5 SE, and the Armored Core series.

Prior to working at Agetec, Irie worked as president at ASCII Software for six years.