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Kaz Hirai drops some titles at Sony, still president
One morning, Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai woke up and said, "I probably have too many titles." Beyond being the president and CEO of Sony Corporation (the umbrella parent company of PlayStation, Bravia, and many other Sony brands), Hirai is also "representative director" and "chairman" – until today, that is. Hirai is relinquishing his responsibilities and titles for both his positions as representative director and chairman of Sony Corp.Hirai is dropping both titles and responsibility in today's move, only remaining on Sony's board in a "part-time capacity." He became president and CEO earlier this year, taking over former CEO Howard Stringer's spot in early February. Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House is taking over the vacated chairman position, effective this month, and former Sony Corp. head Howard Stringer is also exiting his board seat.In case the bizarre-looking hierarchy isn't clear enough, this means that Andrew House – the guy who runs the PlayStation brand – is the head of Sony Corp.'s board, followed by eight Japan-based Sony Corp. employees. One of those is his boss, Kaz Hirai. Yup.
Sony appoints Kaz Hirai to prez and CEO, replacing Sir Howard Stringer
After a bout of he said / she said earlier this year over the possibility of executive deputy prez Kazuo Hirai becoming president and CEO of Sony Corp., Sony has decided to make the news official this morning. As of April 1, 2012, Kaz will step up to the job of current CEO Sir Howard Stringer, effectively kicking off two months of vacation for Stringer before he becomes chairman of the board of directors in June 2012."I look forward to helping Kaz in every way I can so that succession leads inevitably to success," Stringer said in the announcement press release. Kaz was ready with the back patting as well, as he said, "Challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position." Hirai is known for having lead Sony Computer Entertainment through its most successful years, as well as being the guy who says "Riiiiiiiidge Racer!" really enthusiastically.Stringer's appointment to the board of directors in June awaits final approval during the annual shareholders meeting in June. If confirmed, he will replace retiring chairman Yotaro Kobayashi, though he will in no way match Kobayashi's totally sweet name.
Sony refutes Hirai promotion, says 'nothing has been determined'
Sony does not appreciate websites like us gossiping about Kazuo Hirai, it seems. The corporation issued a statement refuting "certain media reports" made "regarding Sony Corporation officers' appointments." We reported last week that Hirai had been promoted to the position of president, following information published by Nikkei. However, Sony said it "has made no announcement in this regard and nothing has been determined at this time." It would appear Nikkei got the story out earlier than Sony expected (wouldn't be the first time!), and Sony's board has yet to approve Hirai's promotion. Or, of course, Nikkei's report could have been inaccurate the first time. In any case, we hope you haven't ordered too many "Don't blame me, I voted for Howard Stringer" bumper stickers.
Nikkei: Kaz Hirai stepping up as Sony president, Stringer staying on as chairman and CEO
It's unfortunate, but it seems unlikely we'll be hearing Sony Computer Entertainment's current "executive deputy president" Kazuo Hirai regaling us with extended "Riiiiiiiiidge Racer!" shouts much more, as Nikkei is reporting he'll be taking over as president of Sony Corporation in the coming months. Current president, CEO and chairman Sir Howard Stringer will apparently be losing a third of his title to Kaz, and the move is expected "as soon as April," as translated by our bilingual cohorts at Engadget. When Hirai was promoted to the deputy president role earlier this year, he became the heir apparent to Stringer's job as president, so it's not exactly an enormous surprise to hear this report. Sony had yet to confirm the news as of publishing, but Nikkei isn't exactly known for its false reporting. All the same, we've reached out for confirmation. Update: Sony tells us it "Doesn't comment on rumor or speculation." Not exactly a denial, but take that as you will.
Sony to divide TV division into three-headed monster, looks to bounce back
Looking to make a rebound in the ailing TV business, Sony has announced that it will split its television division into three. According to Reuters, the company is looking to keep operations in check with separate departments for LCD TVs, outsourcing and next-gen TVs. The company is wasting no time, as the move will take place on November 1st. The announcement also comes in advance of Sony's quarterly earnings report this Wednesday which is predicted to be a quite a few eggs short of the full basket that was hoped for -- due in part to its inability to compete against Vizio and Samsung. There are also rumblings that the company could be looking to sell off its almost 50-percent share of a liquid-crystal display collaboration with the aforementioned Sammy. It appears moves are being made to stay in the TV game, but the real question is will Sony be able to stop the bleeding (or, perhaps more appropriately, melting)?
