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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Foreigner to lead Sony


Newly named Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer, center, speaks with outgoing Chairman Nobuyuki Idei, left, and new President Ryoji Chubachi during a press conference Monday.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

TOKYO — Sony Corp. named Howard Stringer as its chairman on Monday, a decision that marks the first time a foreigner will head a major Japanese electronics firm and comes as the company seeks to improve results at its faltering core electronics business.

A former CBS president, Stringer has overseen Sony’s entertainment business, one of the company’s few bright spots in recent years. He replaces Nobuyuki Idei, who has led the Tokyo-based company for a decade.

The management changes come at a time when fears are growing about Sony’s ability to revive its electronics operations, which have been battered by cheaper competition from Asian rivals.

The decision was made at a board meeting Monday, subject to shareholders’ approval in June, Sony said in a statement. Kunitake Ando will also step down as Sony president and will be replaced by Ryoji Chubachi, an executive with experience in Sony’s electronics and networking divisions.

“Sony has an unparalleled legacy of boldness, innovation and leadership around the world,” Stringer, vice chairman at Sony and chief executive of Sony Corp. of America, said in a statement.

“Together we look forward to joining our twin pillars of engineering and technology with our commanding presence in entertainment and content creation to deliver the most advanced devices and forms of entertainment to the consumer,” he said.

Stringer, who is British and speaks no Japanese, will also take over as chief executive. He will continue to live in New York, although he will continue to travel back and forth between the United States and Japan, according to Sony.

Koya Tabata, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston Securities (Japan) in Tokyo,said Stringer already works well with Sony’s Japanese and electronics employees, and having a foreigner at the helm is a plus for a company like Sony, which makes much of its profits abroad and has a high portion of foreigners among its shareholders, he said.

“It’s fascinating as a symbolic change that Sony’s leader will be a foreigner,” Tabata said. “Idei was good at drawing a picture for a strategy but he lacked the power to carry it out.”

Idei said the time was ripe to hand over leadership to a new team to ensure Sony continues to grow as a global company.

“I am proud to have been a part of the changes at Sony for a decade, including shifting from the analog to digital era, fusing electronics and the culture of entertainment and the advent of broadband,” Idei said in a statement.

Tokyo-based Sony, which also has entertainment businesses, such as movies, music and video games, has been struggling amid nose-diving prices of electronics products and has relied on hit movies to boost profits.

Cheaper electronics goods from Asian and other rivals have been a problem for Sony, which built its global brand over the past decades by offering trusted quality although at higher prices.