Sony to Name Head of U.S. Unit as CEO (from: PaidContent.org)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/pcorg?m=4583
: In an extraordinary move, Sony has named the British-born head of its U.S. operations, Sir Howard Stringer, as chairman and CEO in a rare move for a major Japanese company.Update: The compay has formally announced it: The press release is here: “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,” said Stringer in the statement.
Current CEO Nobuyuki Idei will step down to take responsibility for the firm’s slumping earnings after five rocky years at the helm.
How will this affect digital content efforts at Sony? Hard to say, but in a recent interview with News.com, Stringer was adamant that change had to occur faster. “Without content, most devices are junk,” Stringer said in late January….
WSJ (sub. req.): Long an advocate for the convergence strategy that Sony initially envisaged, Mr. Stringer said he believes Sony’s expanded entertainment assets “are at a level that gives us comfort to develop synergies more efficiently.” He added: “The next level is to prepare for the truly digital revolution. We’ve got to get the relationship between content and devices seamlessly managed.”
Engadget: For the past several years the company has been riven with infighting between its entertainment and electronics divisions, and they’ve done a really poor job adjusting to the new realities…
Bloomberg: “There is no other executive that understands entertainment and technology as well as Howard,” said Richard Doherty, a research director at Envisioneering Group.
FT: A profile of Stringer. “Sony’s US operations have proved more adept than elsewhere in breaking down the silos between its consumer electronics, games, music and film operations.”