Sega has announced that western CEO Mike Hayes is leaving the company this summer and taking an advisory role with Sega and other companies.

Current COO Jurgen Post will take over for Hayes as CEO in both Europe and America.

Said Naoya Tsurumi, Sega president and COO of Hayes, "Mike has achieved a huge amount during his time at Sega and we thank him for the amazing things he has accomplished. Mike is a great character and very passionate about the industry; he helped steer the extraordinary growth of Sega and has built an exceptional team of professionals that will stand us in good stead for the future."

Despite the fact that Hayes is credited with bringing over Total War developer The Creative Assembly and moving the company toward digital distribution, we speculate whether Sega's recent layoffs and project cancellations were a factor in the situation.

[via GamesIndustry International. Photo of Mike Hayes: JesseAngelo.com]