Sony gets new CEO

It is happening. Sony gets a new CEO, in order to get its ship back in order. His name is Sir Howard Stringer and he was instrumental in Sony's takeover battle for movie company MGM last year. He comes on board after Sony battled sinking fortunes, that turned it from an innovator to a follower.

The main thing is that he represents a lot of firsts for the company.

- He is non-Japanese
- He is a non-gadget guy
- He is the first person with an engineering background to head the company

The Guardian writes that "Sony turned to the man who has transformed the company's fortunes in America after its core electronics business floundered. Entertainment generated the bulk of Sony 's operating profits of 27.4bn yen for the September quarter.

The US business benefited from massive cost cutting (9,000 jobs last year) and successful movies such as Spider-Man 2. While group margins were stuck at 1%, it was the only division to achieve 8% margins, close to a corporate goal of 10%."

May be it is necessary to break with traditions to change the destiny.

He is a "New York-based Brit to the top job. He will become the first non-Japanese speaker and the first without a background in engineering to head the company. Sir Howard, 62, is a self-confessed non-gadget guy.

(By Asia Business Consulting)