Howard Stringer

Howard Stringer, who fought to bring a divided and struggling Sony Corporation together as the company's first foreign president, is retiring as chairman in June.

He announced his departure on Friday in New York during a speech at the Japan Society, and Sony, in Tokyo, confirmed the news on Sunday. He will step down at an annual general shareholders meeting.

Mr. Stringer, a Welsh-born American and 15-year employee at Sony, became president and chief executive in 2005, when the once glorious maker of the Walkman music player was starting to get overwhelmed

Sony Europe has announced the appointment of Masaru Tamagawa as its new president, as part of a "transformation program" being implemented across the struggling consumer electronics giant.

Tamagawa has been managing director of Sony India since 2007, where he helped guide Sony to the top share of the emerging Indian electronics market. Previously, he led Sony Gulf, based out of Dubai.

Current Sony Europe president Fujio Nishida will step up to become chairman of the group, overseeing a transformation program being implemented across Sony's entire European consumer electronics operation.

The Bellagio casino-hotel in Las Vegas hosted a shotgun wedding in January. The bride and groom had met just a couple hours earlier; she wore a skimpy dress, he was in powder blue coattails.

The ceremony was actually a PR stunt. But the man who brokered it, incoming Sony Corp boss Kazuo Hirai, was dead serious.

The guests were mainly journalists assembled in Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. The couple were a pair of actors hired from a local talent agency. They were supposed to represent the Internet and Sony's Bravia television

8:39 AM EST By (Updates with ADR performance in 14th paragraph.) Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Incoming Sony Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirais biggest challenge will be to solve a puzzle that bedeviled Howard Stringer for eight years: how to make money selling televisions. Japans largest electronics exporter said yesterday that Hirai, 51, will succeed Stringer, 69, in April. Sonys TV business may lose 175 billion yen ($2.3 billion) this fiscal year, adding to the 480 billion yen in losses since 2004. Sony has lost ground to South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., both of which

In early January, it was widely reported that Kaz Hirai will become the president of Sony in April 2012. At that time, current CEO Sir Howard Stringer was expected to maintain his role. Today, Sony announced Hirai is taking over the roles of president and CEO starting on April 1.

Sony Corp named Kazuo Hirai as Chief Executive, to succeed Howard Stringer at the helm of the iconic gadget maker as it struggles with persistent losses and stalled efforts to reenergize its once dominant brand.

Hirai, a 28-year company veteran known for overseeing the phenomenal rise of the PlayStation gaming system in the United States, takes over as CEO and president from April 1.

Hirai, 51, was effectively anointed as Stringer's successor last March when he was promoted to head the company's consumer products and services businesses, which produce the bulk