As far as where he's going, Lynton has long been involved with Snapchat and his role there is increasing ahead of its anticipated IPO. When Sony was hacked, emails leaked from his inbox revealed dealings with a company, Vergence Labs, that hinted at the development of Snap's recently-released Spectacles.

In a statement, the exec said "I have been involved with Evan and Snapchat since its early days, and given its growth since then, decided the time was right to transition and focus on my role as Chairman of the Board of Snap Inc. I leave Sony with great pride in all we have accomplished together, and confidence that the broad changes we have made and new management team we have assembled over the last few years will strengthen the company overall. I want to thank Sony Corp. - Kaz Hirai and Howard Stringer in particular - for their leadership and support over the years, and our excellent teams at Pictures and Music for their unwavering dedication to producing and distributing outstanding entertainment."