Tokyo, Japan—Sony Corporation is establishing a new management structure led by president and CEO Kazuo Hirai and designed to drive revitalization and growth across its core electronics businesses—digital imaging, gaming and mobile. The changes are effective April 1, 2012.
The move is also aimed at delivering “compelling user experiences through convergence of the unique assets in place throughout the Sony Group,” reports the company. Hirai will be at the center of a management team that works together with the heads of each business group and platform, and the new structure is intended to optimize decision-making processes as “One Sony” that will accelerate Sony’s overall business management.
Under this structure, corporate executive officers Masaru Kato, executive vice president and CFO, and Tadashi Saito, executive vice president and CSO (chief strategy officer), will oversee the Sony Group’s financial management, corporate and business strategies. With respect to the electronics businesses, in addition to Kato and Saito, Shoji Nemoto, corporate executive officer and EVP who will oversee technology strategy, and Kunimasa Suzuki, corporate executive officer and EVP who will oversee product strategy, will have key roles in the management team that will support Hirai and work with the heads of each business group, platform and headquarters function to revitalize Sony’s electronics operations.
Sony is positioning digital imaging, game and mobile as the three core pillars of its electronics business, and going forward it aims to concentrate its resources in these areas. Sony also plans to accelerate its efforts to drive innovation and new business creation.
Nemoto will be assigned overall responsibility for technology strategies and will work with Tomoyuki Suzuki, corporate executive officer and EVP, who will oversee Sony’s core device technologies to create new businesses and enhance the R&D operations. Nemoto will also implement a process of stringent selection and focus in the area of R&D to enable Sony to optimize resource allocation.
As officer in charge of the User Experience (“UX”) & Product Strategy and Creative Platform, Kunimasa Suzuki will assume responsibility for planning and design in relation to all consumer related products and services, with the aim of strengthening horizontal integration and enhancing the user experience across Sony’s product and network service lineup. He will also oversee the mobile business that includes smartphones, tablets and PCs.
The Home Entertainment Business, including TVs, will be overseen by the CEO Hirai, who will also be corporate executive officer in charge of these businesses. Tomoyuki Suzuki will lead the device and semiconductor businesses and the core device R&D activities that support these businesses. And Sony’s medical-related businesses that had been dispersed across multiple units will now be integrated into a dedicated medical business unit overseen by Hiroshi Yoshioka, corporate executive officer and executive deputy president.
In the area of sales and marketing, Haruyasu Nagata, currently president of Sony (China) Co., will be appointed senior vice president and head of the Global Sales and Marketing Platform. Nobuki Kurita, currently president of Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc., will be appointed president, Sony (China) Co. Hiroshi Kawano will be appointed president, Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc., while continuing his current role as president, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan.
As of April 1, 2012, Sir Howard Stringer will be the director, representative corporate executive officer and chairman of Sony Corp. sony.com
