TOKYO (AP) – Sony appointed a veteran executive as its president Thursday to lead the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate through times of change.
Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s chief financial officer, will become president and COO, Sony Corp. said. in a statement.
Kenichiro Yoshida remains chairman and chief executive, signaling continuity at the Tokyo-based maker of PlayStation game machines, Bravia TVs and Spider-Man movies.
Sony is expected to report a drop in revenue in its corporate results update later in the day.
Yoshida proposed an executive shakeup last year to strengthen Sony’s management of its various operations. It won unanimous board approval Thursday.
Sony, for decades synonymous with Japanese technological prowess, brought mobile entertainment to the world with the music-on-the-move Walkman more than four decades ago. In recent years it has been criticized as struggling to coordinate its vast operations that range from video games and music to digital cameras and robot dogs.
Totoki said that he will try to fulfill the challenge.
“I want to create a positive spiral that starts with Sony’s choice of customers, that motivates our employees, enables us to attract more new talent, increases our corporate value, and ultimately enables us to to return to society,” he said. .
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
