Sony Pictures Entertainment Names Drew Shearer Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Succeeding Philip Rowley

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) announced the appointment of Drew Shearer to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of SPE, effective October 1, 2024. Shearer succeeds Philip Rowley who will step down after a distinguished eight years at the company leading transformational change across the studio. 

Shearer has been with the company for nearly 30 years. He joined the studio in 1996 as Director of Internal audit for Sony Corporation of America and has since held roles of Finance Director of Sony Pictures Television Studios and Divisional CFO of Sony Pictures Television’s global businesses before being promoted in 2014 to Executive Vice President, Group Divisional Chief Financial Officer. In this leadership role, he has overseen global financial affairs for the studio’s corporate departments, content development, production, marketing and sales businesses, and linear and digital networks. Prior to SPE, Shearer worked for the Audit practice of Deloitte & Touche LLC in Detroit, Michigan.

“Drew knows our business inside and out and his financial insights and efficiencies have driven strong results for our company. We look forward to his astute leadership at a dynamic time for our industry,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “I’d also like to thank Philip for his remarkable work at the company over the past eight years. He’s added tremendous value and driven significant corporate transformation for the company while navigating an ever-evolving industry landscape. He has positioned the studio well for continued strength and growth.”

“I have had a wonderful time here at Sony Pictures, having had the great pleasure of working with so many talented and committed people,” said Rowley. “The last few years have been very successful for this company, and I feel very privileged to have been a part of that.”

Rowley joined SPE as Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2016. In his time at SPE, Rowley implemented new methodologies for forecasting and budgeting, introduced new mid-range planning models, and created cross-company data initiatives, significantly cutting run-rates of corporate costs. Prior to SPE, Rowley was CEO of AOL Europe, Group Finance Director at UK retail conglomerate, Kingfisher plc, and CFO of EMI Music Worldwide. During his six-year tenure at EMI, he led the acquisitions of Virgin Music, Chrysalis Records, and IRS Records. Rowley has held several non-executive board seats including ARM Holdings plc, where he successively chaired the audit and remuneration committees, and has chaired HMV Group plc and Promethean World plc. He founded the startups Tribeca Technologies in New York, and TablePouncer in the UK, and served as an advisor and board member to several additional early-stage companies. 

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. Sony Pictures Television operates dozens of wholly-owned or joint-venture production companies around the world. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, Sony Pictures International Productions, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html