The brainchild of Nobuyuk who led Sony Japan from 1998 to 2005, which spearheaded its growth in the digital and entertainment businesses, is dead, the company said on Tuesday. He was 84 years old.
The idea died of liver failure on June 2 in Tokyo, according to a statement from Sony Group Corp.
Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said he and the company have a responsibility to prepare Sony for the Internet age in light of Ideai’s vision.
“During the seven years since 1998, as CEO, Mr. Idei has made the biggest contribution to Sony’s evolution as a global company. In particular, the prophecy and foresight with which he foresaw the impact of the Internet and proactively engaged in Sony’s digitization remains astonishing,” he said.
Tokyo-based Sony is one of Japan’s stellar brands that brought the Walkman portable music player to the world. But it had humble beginnings in the 1940s, when the nation was rebuilding itself from the ashes of World War II.
Sony was founded by Akio Morita, co-author Japan who can refuse, who supported a more confident and proud Japan and Masaru Ibuka. In the 1970s, when Sony was developing the Walkman, some engineers were skeptical. But Morita insisted that people listen to music on the go.
Idei joined Sony in 1960, after graduating from the prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo, and worked in the audio and video departments.
He was president in 1995 and has been credited with being behind popular products like the Vaio laptop.
He became CEO three years later, handpicked by Norio Ohga, who ran Sony in the ’80s and ’90s and was a wonderful music lover who played a major role in the company’s development of compact discs.
Ideai launched Sony Digital Operations under the banner “Digital Dream Kids”. It also accelerated Sony’s global expansion, including PlayStation’s video game business and Sony’s vast entertainment empire, which includes music and movies.
IDEI also strengthened the global group’s management structure and the corporate governance structure within the company. He was appointed director of the Japanese government’s IT Strategy Council in 2000, helping the country build broadband networks.
He was replaced by Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese to lead Sony.
The shock came in 2005, at a time when concerns grew over whether Sony could resume electronics operations in the face of cheap competition from Asian competitors. Sales of products that were once Sony’s mainstay, such as televisions and portable players, fell.
In 2003, under Idei’s leadership, Sony shares tumbled in what has been called a “Sony shock” after he said something worse than expected was red paint.
Sony has repeatedly promised to turn a profit through futuristic devices that download web-related entertainment into the home, allowing the company to use its electronics and entertainment departments.
“Sony’s surprise was a surprise to us,” Idei said at the time. “We want to turn the shock into something positive.”
After retiring from Sony, Idei founded the consulting firm Quantum Leaps Corp., which focused on transforming companies and educating the next generation of leaders.
According to Sony, the idea was left to his wife and daughter. The personal funeral service was held with a close family and a company memorial service in his honor is planned later, according to the statement.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
