Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is properly referred to by the given name Ólafur.

Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (known internationally as Olaf Olafsson) is an Icelandic businessman, writer, and scientist, possibly best known for his tenure at Sony and his connection to the PlayStation video game console.

Personal life

Ólafur was born in Reykjavik, Iceland on 26 September 1962. He studied physics as a Wien Scholar at Brandeis University. He lives in New York City with his wife Anna Ólafsdóttir and three children.

Literary career

He is the author^[1] of three previous novels, The Journey Home, Absolution and Walking Into the Night, and a story collection, Valentines. His books have been published to critical acclaim in more than twenty languages. He is the recipient of the O. Henry Award and the Icelandic Literary Award, was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize, and has twice been nominated for the IMPAC Award.

Business career

Ólafur was the founder, president and chief executive officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Inc., a unit of Sony Corporation established in 1991. He built and managed its businesses in the United States and Europe. During his six-year tenure, he directed the worldwide operations of Sony’s entertainment software and hardware divisions and was responsible for the introduction of the acclaimed PlayStation. He held several other positions at Sony, having begun his career at the company in 1985.

Ólafur was president of Advanta Corporation, since March 1998 and a member of its board of directors since 1997.

He is the Executive Vice President of Time Warner^[2] Before assuming his current position, Ólafur was Vice Chairman of Time Warner Digital Media where he was responsible for developing strategic business plans for Time Warner’s digital media businesses.

Books

Absolution (Pantheon, 1994)
The Journey Home (Pantheon, 2000). Palomar Pictures has considered adapting The Journey Home (Slóð fiðrildanna) as a film.
Walking Into the Night (Pantheon, 2003)
Valentines (Random House, 2007). Won the 2006 Icelandic Literary Prize for fiction.^[1]
Restoration (Harper Collins: Ecco, 2012)

References

1 2 "Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson". Reykjavík City Library.
↑ http://www.timewarner.com/our-company/management/senior-corporate-executives/olaf-j-olafsson Ólafur's profile on timewarner.com

External links

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 2556054 LCCN: n93101209 ISNI: 0000 0001 1586 036X GND: 123649080 SELIBR: 218155 SUDOC: 033046816 BNF: cb123952895 (data)

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