Kazuo Hirai has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Sony, effective from April 1st 2012, the firm has announced.
Current President Sir Howard Stringer will become Chairman of the Board of Directors in June, 2012.
Hirai originally joined Sony in 1995, where he headed up Sony America’s game division SCEA, and played a fundamental role in the success of the original PlayStation.
He was propelled to legendary status within the community following his infamous ‘Riiiidge Racer!’ comments at E3 2006, and replaced PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi as President of Sony Computer Entertainment later that year.
In the years that followed, Hirai saw numerous additional promotions, becoming President and Group CEO of SCEI, and later CEO and Executive Vice President of Sony Corporation.
“As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position,” said Hirai of his promotion.
“I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees.
Hirai says that his primary concerns are the growth of the firm’s “core electronics businesses”, which include gaming.
“The path we must take is clear: 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.
“The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.”
Tags: Ridge Racer Unbounded
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