Sony has a rich history, full of ups and downs. But, anyway, it is difficult to overestimate her contribution to the development of consumer electronics, all kinds of gadgets, robotics and the gaming industry. Today, few people have heard of the game consoles of the PlayStation family or the remarkable video cameras and cameras designed by the engineers of this Japanese company. Kazuo Hirai topped Sony in a difficult time for her, at the peak of the crisis, when profits were tending to zero, and the company's shares plummeted. Since 2012, he has done an incredible job, returning Sony the former greatness, but, as it became known today, he plans to leave the office in April this year.
Kazuo Hirai got a job at CBS Sony Records in 1984. Then he was engaged in marketing of foreign music in Japan, and then rose to the head of the department of international cooperation of Sony. In this he was helped very much by the fact that Kazuo's father was a banker who constantly took his son to the USA, where he studied among English-speaking children and was imbued with Western culture, in parallel with language learning. Later, Hirai was transferred to the US office of the company, and now he helped make Japanese musical performers popular among Americans.
In 1995, Kazuo Hirai was transferred to Sony Computer Entertainment America, the unit responsible for distributing and supporting game consoles. Already four years later he headed it as an operational director, and by 2003 became its general director. Under the able guidance of this man, the PlayStation 2 console appeared, which won frenzied popularity among users. It was "Kaz" (as Kazuo called colleagues) who was responsible in 2006 for preparing the release of PlayStation 3, which, unfortunately, started with some serious problems.
It's no exaggeration to say that it is due to the tenacity and leadership talents of Hirai that the unit responsible for the production and support of the PlayStation consoles is thriving today and is bringing the company a solid profit. Coming to replace the previous president Howard Stringer, Kaz Hirai decided to take extreme measures to save the dying Sony from oblivion. He had to sell a large number of real estate companies, close several unprofitable studios and units. At some point, he even cut the salaries of senior management, including himself, twice. However, his decisions eventually had an effect, and Sony slowly but surely scrambled out of the hole.
"As the company approaches the decisive moment when we start implementing a new corporate plan, I believe that now is the ideal time to transfer leadership to the new leadership, so that Sony can safely step into the future, and also so that I can start a new a chapter in his life, "Kazuo Hirai said in an official address to the press.
Kazuo Hirai announced that he would be leaving the company's president on April 1, 2018. His post will be occupied by Kenichiro Yoshida, who held the position of Chief Financial Officer in the company in 2013. Hirai worked shoulder to shoulder with Yoshida for several years, so he decided that he could be trusted to lead his company. Hirai himself will not leave the company behind and will most likely become chairman of Sony's board of directors. We wish him success in his new position and we hope that he will be able to have a good rest after all that he did for Sony in the difficult years of its crisis.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment