Sony CFO to lead entertainment-electronic giant as president

TOKYO – 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 the 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 was forecast to report a decline in earnings in its corporate results update later in the day.

Yoshida proposed the executive change last year to strengthen Sony’s management across its diverse operations. It won unanimous board approval Thursday.

Sony, for decades synonymous with Japan’s technological prowess, brought mobile entertainment to the world with the music-on-the-move Walkman more than four decades ago. In recent years it been criticized as struggling to coordinate its sprawling operations spanning video games and music to digital cameras and robot dogs.

Totoki said he will try to live up to the challenge.

“I would like to create a positive spiral that begins with Sony being chosen by customers, which then energizes our employees, enables us to attract more new talent, increases our corporate value, and ultimately enables us to give back to society,” he said.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama