New Sony CEO may
signal strategy change

Stringer is seen as unafraid to make the kind of sweeping changes, including bridging the competing interests of its technology and content sides, that Sony might need to make the elusive goal of “convergence” work.

“Stringer got them out of the TV content business because he decided it wasn’t profitable,” Wolzien said. “He has a history of being willing to shut stuff down if it doesn’t make sense.”

Over the past two years, Stringer turned to two “outsiders” to lead the company’s movie and music divisions. In 2003, Stringer named NBC president Andrew Lack to head its struggling music division. The same year, Stringer tapped AOL International head Michael Lynton to head Sony Pictures.

Stringer has also been highly influential in persuading Sony’s Japanese leadership to invest in building the kind of content library that could give its new consumer electronics offerings an edge.

He strongly urged the purchase by a Sony-led consortium of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, for instance — a move seen as key to its upcoming new high-definition DVD format Blu-Ray and to provide content for its new PlayStation Portable.

“That is why content is at the heart of Sony’s strategy,” Stringer said in a speech last March. “Like a new world orbiting an ancient sun, the broadband entertainment planet will orbit around content, as surely as the analog world did before it. Content is the flame that beckons.”

Kazuharu Miura, analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo, predicted Stringer would be able to overcome internal divisions at Sony because he hasn’t risen through the ranks like most Japanese executives. He noted Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-born Frenchman who has steered Nissan from near-bankruptcy to being one of the world’s most profitable automakers, has exploited similar status to his advantage.

Miura said he wouldn’t rate Stringer’s appointment until he saw the new executive’s business plan, something he doesn’t expect for at least another six months.

Stringer, for one, has no background in engineering — and electronics remain Sony’s core business, accounting for 70 percent of revenues in the quarter ending Dec. 31.

Idei said Sony, which has 50,000 employees in Japan and another 100,000 overseas, would have little trouble adjusting to being lead by a foreigner. And Stringer said he wasn’t worried about communicating because many executives at Sony speak English.

Stringer said he will work closely with Ryoji Chubachi, who will replace Kunitake Ando as president, and with Katsumi Ihara, the chief financial officer. Both are Japanese and have years of experience in electronics.

He added he would carry on the strategy set up by Idei and Ando of integrating electronics and entertainment. But he said he will accelerate decision-making and use younger talent.

Stringer joined Sony in 1997 after serving as president of CBS News from 1986 to 1988, and then president of CBS Broadcast Group from 1988 to 1995.

He will continue to live in New York, where he now resides, and travel between the United States and Japan.

MORE FROM WORLD BUSINESS

World business Section Front

U.S. financial panic goes global   Global efforts to tackle credit crisis diverge Iceland takes Russian loan, nationalizes bank   European markets higher on rate cut hopes Global turmoil could reverse prosperity World struggles with unified response to crisis French bank to take majority stake in Fortis Germany guarantees all private bank accounts Banking giant UBS to cut 2,000 jobs Feeling Wall St.'s pain, Manila to Paris World business Section Front   Add World business headlines to your news reader: