Despite having downplayed rumors on the matter less than a month ago, Sony has issued a press release indicating that Kazuo Hirai will become the new president and CEO of Sony Corporation. On April 1st, Hirai will replace Sir Howard Stringer at the wheel of the electronics giant. Stringer will remain on as chairman and is expected to move to a new position as Chairman of the Board following the shareholders meeting that will be held in June. Though he headed the multinational for over seven years, calls for the resignation of Sir Howard Stringer began to arise after the Playstation Network outage of 2011 and the ensuing legal repercussions.
Kazuo Hirai headed Sony Computer Entertainment of America for several years, before taking on positions within the Sony Corporation, the parent organization. He has been with the organization since 1995.