Howard Stringer to helm Sony's game operations

TOKYO--New Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer will be overseeing the company's gaming operations effective April 1. According to a press release on the official Sony Web site, Stringer will shortly become the "Officer in charge of [the Sony] Game Business Group."

Stringer, the former head of Sony Corporation America, is the first foreign-born chief executive of the Japanese company. Born in Cardiff, Wales, the 63-year-old worked his way up through the ranks at CBS, and was the force behind pulling David Letterman and his nighttime talk show to the television station. After a two-year stint as CEO of Tele-TV, Stringer took the reigns of Sony's US operations in 1998.

Stringer replaced former CEO Nobuyuki Idei on March 7.

According to Bloomberg Japan, Ken Kutaragi, father of the PlayStation and former head of the gaming division, will keep his position as president of Sony Computer Entertainment. However, he will report directly to Stringer from now on.