Kenichiro yoshida sony michel

Kaz Hirai had a difficult task ahead of him — transform an aging company that was losing ground to nearly every competitor out there. Exactly 6 years after he became CEO, a new man is taking the helm of a Sony that’s in much better condition than it was before — but where Hirai was known for his charisma, Yoshida is known for his pragmatic approach.

At Apple, Steve Jobs was the visionary of the company who formulated grandiose plans and products, but it was Tim Cook as COO who helped execute them and bring them to reality.

Now Sony finds itself in a similar situation.

Sony Group Portal - Message from the CEO and COO

Kaz Hirai had the ability to maneuver and bring forth his visions because of Kenichiro Yoshida and his deep understanding of the core business and all the moving parts around them. Now like Apple, it’s the ‘numbers guy’ who is going to lead the company. For Apple, it’s worked out quite well, but will the same be true for Sony?

Yuji Nakamura and Yuki Furukawa for Bloomberg:

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