Welshman to head electronics giant Sony

A Welshman was today appointed chairman of Sony, marking the first time a foreigner will head a major Japanese electronics firm and comes as the company seeks to improve results at its faltering core electronics business.

Howard Stringer, a former TV reporter, had overseen Sony’s entertainment business, one of the company’s few bright spots in recent years. He replaces Nobuyuki Idei, who has led the Tokyo-based company for a decade.

The management changes come at a time when fears are growing about Sony’s ability to revive its electronics operations, which have been battered by cheaper competition from Asian rivals.

The decision was made at a board meeting today, subject to shareholders’ approval in June, Sony said.

“Sony has an unparalleled legacy of boldness, innovation and leadership around the world,” said Stringer.

“Together we look forward to joining our twin pillars of engineering and technology with our commanding presence in entertainment and content creation to deliver the most advanced devices and forms of entertainment to the consumer,” he said.

Tokyo-based Sony, which also has entertainment businesses, such as movies, music and video games, has been struggling amid nose-diving prices of electronics products and has relied on hit movies to boost profits.

Products that were once pillars of Sony’s power, such as TVs and portable players, have declined in sales in recent years.

Cheaper electronics goods from Asian and other rivals have been a problem for Sony, which built its global brand over the past decades by offering trusted quality although at higher prices.

What was dubbed “Sony shock” happened two years ago, when Sony share prices dropped on worse than expected earnings results. Although Sony’s profits have since improved, they have not made a dramatic revival.

Analysts also say Sony missed the boat with portable music players by delaying a release of products to play MP3 music files, taking a beating from the iPod by Apple Computer Inc.

Movies Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 have been among the few bright spots in Sony’s otherwise faltering performance.

Oxford educated Stringer has overseen the company’s entertainment operations, including the recent acquisition of a consortium of US film and television studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MGM.

A native of Cardiff, Stringer became a US citizen in 1985. He is a former CBS reporter and served as president of the US TV network from 1986 to 1988. He joined Sony in 1997 and was knighted in 1999. He is married with two children.