Sony Corporation Chairman Stringer to Retire

Howard Stringer

Sony Corporation chairman Howard Stringer will retire in June. He announced his departure in New York during a speech at the Japan Society on Friday (March 8), according to the Associated Press. His retirement will come at an annual general shareholders’ meeting in June.

Stringer, a 15-year employee at Sony, became president in 2005. He handed over the helm last year to his successor Kazuo Hirai, longtime head of Sony’s video game unit.

“I was pleased to hand the reins to Kazuo Hirai last year because I saw in him the right mix of skills to lead Sony, and I knew it was the right time to bring about generational change,” Stringer said in the speech. “Over the course of the past year, he has come into his own and is leading Sony with vision and authority.”

Stringer said he will remain busy with charity work in education and medicine, and will continue as chair of the American Film Institute. Prior to joining Sony in 1997, Stringer had a 30-year career as a journalist, producer and executive at CBS, Inc.