Sony Corporation has announced that Kazuo Hirai will become the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer from 1st April 2012. The appointment has been rumoured for several weeks. Sir Howard Stringer, who currently holds the roles of company Chairman, CEO and President, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors in June. He’ll replace Yotaro Kobayashi, who is retiring.
Mr Hirai is currently Executive Deputy President at Sony.
Sir Howard Stringer said “Three years ago, I started to work with the Board on succession plans, and in February, 2009 we named a new generation of leaders to be my management team. Among them was Kaz Hirai, who had distinguished himself through his work in the PlayStation and networked entertainment businesses. Kaz is a globally focused executive for whom technology and the cloud are familiar territory, content is highly valued, and digital transformation is second nature. I believe his tough-mindedness and leadership skills will be of great benefit to the company and its customers in the months and years ahead. I look forward to helping Kaz in every way I can so that succession leads inevitably to success. It was my honor to recommend him to the Board for the positions of President and CEO, because he is ready to lead, and the time to make this change is now.”