Reports are from the Nikkei (translated by Engadget) that Sony will promote Executive Deputy President Kaz Hirai to full on President perhaps as early as April 2012. Current Sony President Howard Stringer is expected to remain with Sony as chairman and CEO.
Hirai, a Sony lifer, got started in what is now Sony Music Entertainment before being shifted over to Sony Computer Entertainment and helping to market the first PlayStation in the U.S. He eventually replaced Ken Kutaragi as President and Group CEO of SCEI in 2007. Two years later, a restructuring within the company put Hirai in charge of Sony's game, personal computer, networked mobile and network service businesses.
Last year, Hirai was promoted to Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President of Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, overseeing the Consumer Products & Services Group that includes the gaming division. It is widely expected that Hirai will replace Stringer as Sony Group CEO, possibly as soon as 2013.
