Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sony Computer Entertainment chairman named CEO of Sony proper

 It looks like Tokyo, Japan-based creator of the PlayStation 3 and Vita hopes to turn a new leaf in 2012. Mashable reports that Sony has announced Kazuo Hirai is the company's new CEO and president, replacing Howard Stringer, effective April 1. Hirai currently serves as president of Sony's Consumer Products & Services Group and chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Many will recognize him as one of the more prominent faces of Sony's PlayStation brand, heading up many of the company's major PlayStation-related announcements both in Japan and the U.S. It's a fitting move for Hirai, considering he's already seen as one of most powerful executives at Sony. Stringer will now serve as chairman of Sony's board of directors.

"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," Stringer said in a release. "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."

Hirai has seen many highs and lows since joining Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995. Unfortunately, the past year has battered Sony with lows, namely the PlayStation Network outage of last spring. More recently, Sony experience troubling Japanese sales of its brand new PS Vita portable game system. Regardless, Hirai continues to look forward.

"The path we must take is clear," Hirai said in a release, "to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses – primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains."

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