Sony’s Howard Stringer announces retirement

Tokyo, Japan (4E) – Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese to lead electronics giant Sony, announced that he will be retiring in June.

A report by the Wall Street Journal said that Stringer made the announcement in a speech in New York to move forward with new opportunities that have been presented to him lately.

The Welsh-born Stringer became Sony’s surprise choice for chief executive in June 2005, but he struggled to steer Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics into the digital age where rivals have produced smartphones and TVs with more features at cheaper prices.

The 71-year-old board chairman is credited for the success in Sony’s entertainment business, although it was during his tenure that the company lost its top position in the TV manufacturing industry to South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. and relinquished its market dominance in the digital music player business to Apple.

The Tokyo-based company said it will decide on Stringer’s successor at the company’s shareholder meeting in June. Stringer had made known his plans to leave to CEO Kazuo Hirai earlier this year, according to Sony spokesman Shiro Kambe.

Stringer said that he will continue to be as chairman of the American Film Institute and could take on other pursuits like sitting on boards of healthcare- and education-related organizations.

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