|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
   |
Nobuyuki Idei: Sony's Visionary
Foreseeing dwindling profits in gadgets like the Walkman and portable CD players, Idei introduced a series of innovative networked products in 1998. The most distinctive was the sleek VAIO C-1 subcompact computer, which sports a built-in digital camera. He also inked an agreement with Microsoft Corp. last June to develop its Windows CE operating system for cable-TV set-top boxes that will hook up to the Net. And he is leading Sony's charge into the software business, with plans to distribute movies, music, and other content via the Web. At the same time, Idei, 61, moved to shore up Sony's soft spots. With music sales slumping and movies like Godzilla falling short of expectations, Idei wasted little time before acting: He quickly promoted industry veteran Howard Stringer to the post of chairman of U.S. operations. Yet there's little he can do about the yen's 20% surge in value against the dollar. Though Sony chalked up a record $4.3 billion operating profit on $56.3 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended March, 1998, this year is tougher. But while Sony's income is expected to fall 30%, to $3 billion, on sales of $56 billion, that's still much better than other Japanese consumer-electronics giants. Like his flamboyant mentor, Sony Co. founder Akio Morita, Idei has no shortage of panache and thrives on rIsk. He dresses in fashionable Italian suits and speeds around in a Porsche 911. Back in the office, some Sony executives worry that, with all his drive, Idei is speeding too fast around hidden curves. But as he watches many of Japan's former powerhouse companies struggle to survive, Sony's boss feels he has little choice but to put the pedal to the metal.
RELATED ITEMS
|
Updated Dec. 30, 1998 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1999, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use
