Sony Corp. (6758) board Chairman Howard Stringer, who became the first non-Japanese executive to lead the company, said he will retire in June.
Stringer, 71, will step down at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, the executive said last week in a speech at the Japan Society in New York.
Kazuo Hirai, 52, succeeded him as chief executive officer about a year ago.A surprise choice for CEO in June 2005, the Welsh-born Stringer struggled to bring Sony into a digital age where rivals offered phones and TVs with more features at often lower prices.
Samsung Electronics Co. topped Sony with its efficient manufacturing.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) products such as the iPod and iPad and clever marketing forced Stringer to focus on cutting costs. “Howard’s achievements as CEO of Sony are innumerable; from breaking down silos and driving ‘Sony United,’ to fundamentally realigning the focus of Sony’s product development,” Hirai said in a statement.
The Tokyo-based company, Japan’s biggest consumer electronics exporter, said Stringer’s successor will be decided after the June shareholder meeting.
Stringer said he will probably sit on boards in the health- care and education fields, and will continue as chairman of the American Film Institute, among other pursuits.
“A new world is opening up for me,” Stringer said, according to a transcript provided by Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for the company. “That will allow me to move forward with new opportunities I’ve been presented with lately.”
Profit Goals
Stringer had informed CEO Hirai about his exit plan earlier this year, Shiro Kambe, a Tokyo-based Sony spokesman, said by phone on March 9.
Sony’s board will discuss replacement candidates and a final decision on Stringer’s successor will be made after the June shareholder meeting, he said. Hirai has been selling Sony assets, including the U.S. headquarters in New York and another building in Tokyo, to reach profitability.
He wants to generate 70 percent of revenue and 85 percent of operating profit in Sony’s electronics from games, digital imaging and mobile devices by March 2015.
The former head of the PlayStation unit has been continuing an effort led by Stringer to enable Sony’s Bravia televisions, Handycam camcorders and Xperia phones to communicate with each other.
“Stringer had a real tough job when he took over the company,” said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst and technology consultant at Creative Strategies Inc. in San Jose, California.
“They’ve made some significant strides since, but still have some siloed businesses that still don’t work in harmony the way they need to.” Sony gained 0.9 percent to 1,464 yen in Tokyo on March 8. The stock has surged 53 percent this year.
bloomberg.com
Stringer, 71, will step down at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, the executive said last week in a speech at the Japan Society in New York.
Kazuo Hirai, 52, succeeded him as chief executive officer about a year ago.A surprise choice for CEO in June 2005, the Welsh-born Stringer struggled to bring Sony into a digital age where rivals offered phones and TVs with more features at often lower prices.
Samsung Electronics Co. topped Sony with its efficient manufacturing.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) products such as the iPod and iPad and clever marketing forced Stringer to focus on cutting costs. “Howard’s achievements as CEO of Sony are innumerable; from breaking down silos and driving ‘Sony United,’ to fundamentally realigning the focus of Sony’s product development,” Hirai said in a statement.
The Tokyo-based company, Japan’s biggest consumer electronics exporter, said Stringer’s successor will be decided after the June shareholder meeting.
Stringer said he will probably sit on boards in the health- care and education fields, and will continue as chairman of the American Film Institute, among other pursuits.
“A new world is opening up for me,” Stringer said, according to a transcript provided by Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for the company. “That will allow me to move forward with new opportunities I’ve been presented with lately.”
Profit Goals
Stringer had informed CEO Hirai about his exit plan earlier this year, Shiro Kambe, a Tokyo-based Sony spokesman, said by phone on March 9.
Sony’s board will discuss replacement candidates and a final decision on Stringer’s successor will be made after the June shareholder meeting, he said. Hirai has been selling Sony assets, including the U.S. headquarters in New York and another building in Tokyo, to reach profitability.
He wants to generate 70 percent of revenue and 85 percent of operating profit in Sony’s electronics from games, digital imaging and mobile devices by March 2015.
The former head of the PlayStation unit has been continuing an effort led by Stringer to enable Sony’s Bravia televisions, Handycam camcorders and Xperia phones to communicate with each other.
“Stringer had a real tough job when he took over the company,” said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst and technology consultant at Creative Strategies Inc. in San Jose, California.
“They’ve made some significant strides since, but still have some siloed businesses that still don’t work in harmony the way they need to.” Sony gained 0.9 percent to 1,464 yen in Tokyo on March 8. The stock has surged 53 percent this year.
bloomberg.com
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