New appointments in reward, payroll and benefits - october. From new heads of reward to payroll leaders and benefits specialists, here are the latest people moves from across the UK reward profession as senior talent continues to shape the future of work. Megan Dregne promoted to Director, Global Compensation at Oracle Her new position places her within Oracle's global compensation leadership, a function supporting the company's approach to employee remuneration across its international operations. The promotion comes as multinational organisations continue to navigate evolving expectations around pay transparency, compensation governance and competitive reward structures. Clodagh Dilger joins Louis Vuitton as HR Director for UK, Ireland and South Africa She confirmed that the appointment follows a year at LVMH Fashion Group UK, where she covered an HR Director maternity leave position. Her latest role also marks a return to Louis Vuitton, having previously spent five years at Celine, another fashion house within the LVMH group. Reflecting on the appointment, she thanked Moritz Garlich and Julien Bourgeois for their trust and the Louis Vuitton team for its welcome. The move brings her experience across several luxury fashion businesses into a regional HR leadership position spanning three markets. Alexandra Shields joins Vodafone as Executive Reward Manager Alexandra has announced her appointment as Executive Reward Manager at Vodafone marking a new chapter in her career in reward. The appointment adds to Vodafone's executive reward team, a function responsible for an important area of remuneration governance and policy. Her new position comes as organisations continue to navigate increasing scrutiny of executive pay, reward structures and transparency. Danielle Keighley promoted to Associate Director of Payroll at Azets She has been promoted to Associate Director of Payroll at professional services firm Azets, following more than 14 years with the business. Danielle expressed her delight at reaching the milestone, reflecting on the colleagues and teams she has worked alongside throughout her career at the firm. The promotion represents a significant step in her career at Azets and recognises her long-standing involvement in the business's payroll operations. Stephanie Turner takes EMEA Payroll Manager role at Sony Interactive Entertainment Stephanie has joined Sony Interactive Entertainment as EMEA Payroll Manager confirming that she had begun her new position with the global entertainment company. The role places her within Sony Interactive Entertainment's regional payroll function, covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Managing payroll across multiple jurisdictions brings particular demands around local legislation, reporting requirements and consistent delivery, making regional payroll leadership an important part of multinational operations. Elise Burnage joins Mountain Warehouse as Group Payroll Manager Elise has been appointed Group Payroll Manager at outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse and has expressed enthusiasm about joining the team and taking on a new professional challenge. The appointment sees Elise join the retailer's payroll function, where the role will involve working within a business operating across the retail sector. Paul Morley appointed HR Reward Partner at Sheffield Forgemasters Paul Morley FCIPPdip has taken up a new position as HR Reward Partner at Sheffield Forgemasters announcing his move into the reward function at the Sheffield-based manufacturing business. The appointment places Paul in a role supporting the organisation's approach to employee reward. His professional payroll qualification brings unique technical knowledge to a function closely connected with pay administration, reward policy and employee remuneration. Sara Every celebrates promotion at Menzies Sara has announced a promotion at accountancy and advisory firm Menzies, marking another career milestone within its payroll business. Every has extensive experience in payroll outsourcing and has worked at Menzies for more than a decade, overseeing payroll services and supporting clients with different processing requirements. Her experience includes payroll systems implementation, process improvement and managing outsourced payroll services for a varied client base. Or let Shard Financial Media Ltd. know about your move for a chance to be featured in next months edition - Share your move Add New Comment

Sony reveals PS5 Prism Collection with three transparent designs. Quick take. The short version * Sony announced the Prism Collection on October 28 with three transparent DualSense and PS5 cover designs: Flare Orange, Emerald Green, and Graphite Gray. * Controllers cost $84.99 USD and launch globally; matching covers cost $74.99 USD and are direct-from-PlayStation in 11 regions or limited quantities elsewhere. * Pre-orders open November 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time, with U.S. direct pre-orders at 7 a.m. PT through direct.playstation.com. * The collection launches February 4, 2027, roughly 12 weeks after pre-orders open and after the holiday shopping window. Sony Interactive Entertainment introduced the Prism Collection on October 28, 2026 in the official PlayStation Blog announcement from Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment. The new line adds transparent DualSense wireless controllers and PS5 console covers in three colors: Flare Orange, Emerald Green, and Graphite Gray. Pre-orders open November 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time. The collection launches starting February 4, 2027. The DualSense wireless controller is priced at $84.99 USD and the matching PS5 console cover at $74.99 USD. The Prism Collection lineup. The Prism Collection spans two hardware categories. DualSense wireless controllers and PS5 console covers both receive the same three transparent designs. Sony calls Flare Orange luminous, Emerald Green elegant with a silky green exterior, and Graphite Gray classy with a refined gray design. Every color in the collection is finished with a premium glossy sheen that Sony describes as sleek. On the controller, the high-gloss clear finish extends across the back. That finish exposes the technology inside the DualSense while keeping a monochromatic look, according to Satoshi Aoyagi. The matching PS5 console covers carry the same Prism color names, so a player can match the transparent controller to the console with the same shade. The collection gives players a closer look at the design and craftsmanship behind the DualSense and PS5. The announcement covers controllers and console covers only. It does not include audio hardware, so players who want wireless sound alongside a transparent setup can look at the Pulse wireless headset separately. Design intent behind the transparent shells. Sony's Color, Material, and Finish design team led the Prism Collection's look. Leo Cardoso said the collection revives an older console aesthetic. "We know how much our fans have been looking forward to the return of transparent controllers. We wanted to bring back the iconic see-through trend of the late '90s in a fresh, modern way that complements the PS5's industrial design." Satoshi Aoyagi explained the finish and color selection. "The high-gloss clear finish extends across the back of the controller, offering a look at the technology that powers the DualSense controller while maintaining a sleek, monochromatic look. The metallic finish on the middle cover brings the contrasting surfaces together for a premium appearance that feels consistent with the PS5 generation. To complement the futuristic aesthetic, we carefully selected three distinct colors: a vibrant orange that subtly takes on a rosy hue where the transparent material overlaps, a deep hunter green that gains depth through its transparency, and a cool-toned storm gray." Pricing and availability. The Prism Collection DualSense wireless controllers will be available globally. The recommended retail price is $84.99 USD, ¥12,480 including tax, €84.99, and £74.99. Actual retailer prices and availability may vary. Players who follow special edition DualSense releases can also compare the transparent DualSense with the Lisa Limited Edition DualSense. The matching PS5 console covers carry a lower price. A matching cover costs $74.99 USD, ¥9,980 including tax, €74.99, and £64.99. The cover distribution is not global. The covers are available exclusively directly from PlayStation where available, and in other regions in limited quantities through select retailers. Direct ordering is available in 11 regions: the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. The announcement lists the direct PlayStation path as the main route for the covers in those markets. Players outside the 11 regions will have to check whether a select retailer has been allocated any stock. Pre-Order and launch timeline. Pre-orders begin November 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time directly from PlayStation where available and at participating retailers. In the U.S., direct pre-orders open November 10 at 7:00 a.m. PT and 10:00 a.m. ET through direct.playstation.com. In the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, direct pre-orders open November 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time through playstation.com/store/hardware. The Prism Collection launches starting on February 4, 2027. The exact launch date and availability may vary by country or region, so players should check local retailer dates rather than assume every market gets the designs on the same day. Analysis: cost, availability, and timing. In U.S. pricing, a matching controller and cover together cost $159.98 before tax. The controller is $84.99 and the cover is $74.99, a $10 gap. The cover does not include a controller, so completing the pair means buying both pieces, and there is no bundle discount. The controller and the cover do not share the same distribution. The controller is available globally through participating retailers, while the cover is exclusive to direct PlayStation channels in the 11 listed regions and appears elsewhere only in limited quantities through select retailers. Players outside those 11 regions may find the controller easy to buy and the cover impossible to source, because the cover is the constrained item. The pre-order and launch dates leave a long gap. Pre-orders open November 10, 2026, during the holiday shopping window, but the launch date is February 4, 2027, roughly 12 weeks later. Gift buyers ordering in November will not receive the item until February, after the holiday gifting season. Sony also said the exact launch date may vary by country or region, so some buyers could wait longer.

Sony suffers massive data breach- 2.58 million So-net and plala users data exposed. October 28, 2026 Sony Network Communications has confirmed a breach exposing 2,585,481 customer records linked to its So-net and plala (S Course) internet services. The company disclosed the incident on October 27, 2026, after finding unauthorized access to its member database. The exposed information includes contact details, account identifiers, and passwords for selected email services. According to the official So-net notice, the breach affected 2,141,986 So-net records and 443,495 plala records. These figures reflect customer records, not a verified count of unique individuals. Former subscribers are also affected, widening the impact beyond people still using the services. The leaked member information includes names, telephone numbers, email addresses, user IDs, dates of birth, gender, and internet connection IDs. Sony said passwords associated with the main membership accounts were not exposed. Credit card information was not included in the compromised data. Sony suffers massive data breach. According to Yahoo, credentials for 54,401 email accounts across four Sony services were exposed: Mail Service (G) (24,655), A-Box (17,672), So-net VAIO Mail (7,005), and PostPet Mail (5,069). Sony reset the affected passwords on October 27 to prevent misuse. CNET Japan reported that the exposed email credentials could have allowed someone to read, send, and receive messages through email software or So-net Webmail. This does not establish that attackers actually accessed those mailboxes. Users must set new passwords and update saved credentials in their email applications. Sony also confirmed exposure of 16 bank account records containing details such as bank names, branch information, account numbers, and account holder names. Bank PINs were not stored. Seven records involving password reset notification documents were also exposed, prompting password resets for those affected. The unauthorized access occurred on October 19. Sony identified the intrusion on October 23, stopped the affected servers, and blocked communications from the source. Investigators confirmed the information leak and established the affected data categories and counts on October 24. Sony reported the incident to Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission. The company has not disclosed how the attacker entered, a specific software flaw, or the attacker's identity. Its investigation into the cause and full impact remains ongoing. No information leak involving NURO or other services outside the named groups has been confirmed. The incident is separate from the previously reported Sony MOVEit data breach, which involved Sony Interactive Entertainment and a different system. No connection between the incidents has been established. The affected records include 272,215 former So-net members and 21,130 former plala members who canceled from March 2026 onward. Sony said customers who canceled by February 2026 were not affected. Exposed personal details can fuel convincing scams, so phishing prevention is important. Customers should open the official account website directly, reset passwords for affected email accounts, and avoid unexpected links or attachments. As of October 27, Sony confirmed no resulting secondary harm but warned that suspicious messages could follow.