Sony Unveils New Management Team, Appoints New Chairman
March 07, 2005
Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation announced a new management structure, designed to build on its core strengths as a global electronics, entertainment and technology company. The proposal was approved at the Board of Directors' Meeting held March 7, 2005, in Tokyo, Japan.
Sir Howard Stringer (pictured) has been appointed Chairman, Group CEO and Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Corporation, marking the first time the Japanese company has named a foreigner to the position.
Effective June 22, subject to approval at Sony Corporation's Ordinary General Shareholder's Meeting that day, the following new management team will lead the company:
1) Sir Howard Stringer (currently Chairman & CEO Sony Corporation of America, Corporate Executive Officer, Vice Chairman and COO Sony Entertainment Business Group) will assume the position of Chairman, Group CEO and Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Corporation. Sir Howard will run Sony's overall group business operations on a global basis from headquarters in both New York and Tokyo. In this new position, he will also continue in his role as the head of the Entertainment Business Group and head of Sony Corporation of America.
2) Dr. Ryoji Chubachi (currently Corporate Executive Officer, Executive Deputy President and COO of MSNC and EMCS) will assume the position of Representative Corporate Executive Officer, President of Sony Corporation and CEO of the Electronics Business Group of the company. In this new position, Dr. Chubachi will have overall responsibility for Sony's electronics businesses worldwide.
3) Mr. Katsumi Ihara (currently Corporate Executive Officer, Executive Deputy President and Group CFO) will assume the role of Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Executive Deputy President and Group CFO, Sony Corporation. Mr. Ihara will oversee financial matters and support Sir Howard and Dr. Chubachi with respect to overall corporate strategy and resource allocation.
The current management team led by Mr. Nobuyuki Idei, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman and Group CEO has implemented an effective reallocation of group-wide resources and promotion of cross-border alliances within the Sony Group. This has resulted in the significant strengthening of the entertainment content businesses, the solidifying of the mobile phone business, the development of the next generation semiconductor chip, and the integration and expansion of the financial services business. As a result, Sony is now poised to move forward with its global entertainment, electronics and technology strategy.
This is a pivotal year for Sony Corporation, and this new structure will enable the company to streamline its operation, and provide a more cohesive focus for operating its businesses around the world in a proactive and strategic manner.
In addition the Nominating Committee agreed to submit the nomination of the following officers as Board member candidates to be formally appointed at the meeting of Sony Corporation's Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting on June 22, 2005 in Tokyo: Howard Stringer; Ryoji Chubachi; Katsumi Ihara.
According to the above, the following current members of the Board will resign from their respective Board memberships as of June 22, 2005.
(Board Members Scheduled to Resign) Nobuyuki Idei
Kunitake Ando
Teruo Masaki
Ken Kutaragi
Teruhisa Tokunaka
Goran Lindhal
Akihisa Ohnishi
While formal appointments will be made on June 22, this management transition will begin effective immediately.
Howard Stringer is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sony Corporation of America, and Vice Chairman, Sony Corporation. He is also corporate head of the Sony Group in the Americas, with responsibility for operations throughout the region; and Chief Operating Officer in charge of Sony Corporation’s Entertainment Business Group, with responsibility for developing the strategic linkage between the entertainment and electronics businesses, and furthering the company’s content businesses worldwide. Mr. Stringer is also a member of the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation, Chairman of Sony Canada and a member of the Board of Sony Europe. He joined the Company in May 1997, and reports to Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation.
As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sony Corporation of America, he is responsible for all of Sony’s entertainment businesses, as well as electronics, technology and convergence efforts in the United States. He oversees Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Television, Sony Pictures Digital; and Sony Electronics Inc., the company's U.S. based electronics hardware sales, marketing and manufacturing business. He is a board member of Sony BMG Music Entertainment (which is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America), one of the largest recorded music companies in the world, and he oversees Sony’s other music-related holdings in the U.S.
Prior to joining Sony, Mr. Stringer had a distinguished 30-year career as a journalist, producer and executive at CBS Inc. As President of CBS from 1988 to 1995, he was responsible for all the broadcast activities of the company including entertainment, news, sports, radio and television stations. Under his leadership, the CBS Television Network became the first network to rise from last to first place in one season. In 1993, in what became one of the most chronicled coups in television history, Mr. Stringer convinced David Letterman to bring his critically acclaimed late night show to CBS.
From 1986 to 1988, Mr. Stringer served as President of CBS News, where he developed several new programs including the award-winning 48 HOURS, which continues as a primetime hit to this day. Prior to that, during his tenure as executive producer of the CBS EVENING NEWS with Dan Rather from 1981 to 1984, that program became the dominant network evening newscast of its day. From 1976 to 1981, while Mr. Stringer was executive producer of the CBS REPORTS documentary unit, it won virtually every major honor, including 31 Emmys, four Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Christopher Awards, three Overseas Press Club Awards, an ABA Silver Gavel and a Robert F. Kennedy Grand Prize. Among his award-winning programs are THE ROCKEFELLERS, THE PALESTINIANS, A TALE OF TWO IRELANDS, THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES, THE BOAT PEOPLE, THE BOSTON GOES TO CHINA, THE FIRE NEXT DOOR, and THE CIA'S SECRET ARMY. Mr. Stringer earned nine individual Emmys as a writer, director and producer from 1974 to 1976.
After leaving CBS Inc., Mr. Stringer was Chairman and CEO of TELE-TV, the media and technology company formed by Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and Pacific Telesis, three of the largest telephone companies in the United States, from February 1995 to April 1997.
Mr. Stringer is the recipient of numerous media and philanthropic awards. Phoenix House, the nation’s leading non-profit substance abuse services organization, presented him with its Public Service Award in April 2002. He has also been honored by Literacy Partners, Teach for America, and the New York Hall of Science. The Center for Communication presented Mr. Stringer with its highest award in November 2000. In May 1999, he was honored with the UJA-Federation of New York's Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award and in November 1999, he was inducted into the Royal Television Society's Welsh Hall of Fame. In 1996 he was awarded the First Amendment Leadership Award by the Radio & Television News Directors Foundation in Washington, D.C., and was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. In 1994, Mr. Stringer received the International Radio and Television Society's Foundation Award, and was honored for his "uncommon vision" in the media industry by the American Museum of the Moving Image.
Mr. Stringer serves as Chairman of the American Film Institute Board of Trustees and is on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Television and Radio. He is a board member of InterContinental Hotels Group, The New York/Presbyterian Hospital, The American Theatre Wing, the American Friends of the British Museum, and the Corporate Leadership Committee of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He has honorary Fellowships from Merton College, Oxford, and the Welsh College of Music and Drama. In 2003, Mr. Stringer received an Honorary Doctorate from the London Institute.
A native of Cardiff, Wales, Sir Howard received the title of Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours list of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on December 31, 1999. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history from Oxford University. He is a recipient of the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement for service in Vietnam (1965-67). He became a U.S. citizen in 1985 and is married to Dr. Jennifer A.K. Patterson, a dermatologist. They have two children, David Ridley and Harriet Kinmond.
Sony Corporation of America, based in New York City, is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of over $72 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, and it employs 162,000 people worldwide. Sony's consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, was $20.4 billion.
For more information, visit
www.sony.com/sca
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