Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. promoted the executives who run its entertainment and video-game units Monday.
Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony Corp. of America and head of the entertainment group, will become Sony vice chairman. He retains his position as chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America. The entertainment group includes music and film operations.
Ken Kutaragi, who made the Sony PlayStation console a major moneymaker for the Tokyo-based company, will become executive deputy president of Sony in addition to his current duties as chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment and as a Sony director.
The appointments are effective Tuesday, Sony said in a statement.
Kutaragi has been viewed as a candidate to head Sony, and his promotion is a clear sign he is gaining power in the overall company, and not just in its video-game operations.
To emphasize their global management responsibilities, Sony chief executive Nobuyuki Idei will also serve as chief executive of the Sony Group, and Kunitake Ando will become chief operating officer of the group as well as of the company.
Sony Electronics Inc., the largest unit of Sony Corp. of America, said Hideki Komiyama was been named president and chief operating officer. He will succeed Fujio Nishida, who is being promoted to corporate senior vice president and electronics chief marketing officer of Sony Corp.
Komiyama is a corporate vice president and the president of the Electronic Devices Marketing Group, based in Tokyo.
Sony also said it will group its businesses into seven units to come up with new strategies.
The home network company will focus on next-generation TVs and other Internet-linking products, while the broadband network company will develop devices and linkages to game machines, it said.
The other units are: IT and mobile solutions network, broadband game businesses, components and services such as finance, retail and network solutions. An entertainment group will develop a business model for the network era for Sony’s films and music.