Stringer ringer
Sony anoints topper as U.S. point man
As reported (Daily Variety, Dec. 9), Sony Music Entertainment CEO Tommy Mottola and Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO John Calley will now report to Stringer, rather than directly to Sony's headquarters in Tokyo. The two men were also promoted to chairmen of their respective divisions.
Coming 18 months after Stringer joined Sony as president of SCA, with only vaguely defined operating responsibilities, the new structure erases the unwieldy arrangement in which Stringer, Mottola and Calley were each free to deal directly with Tokyo about their businesses, rather than through one coordinating point.
Calley is thought to have been a proponent of the reorganization, in contrast to Mottola, who had retained a historic reporting line to Sony chairman Norio Ohga jointly with Sony co-CEO Nobuyuki Idei.
Relations between Calley and Stringer are believed to be better than those between Stringer and Mottola, which will likely affect how the structure works in the future.
Stringer will continue to report to Idei. "Howard's new appointment reflects the ever increasing importance of his role as a bridge between the technological and software areas of Sony's operations in the United States," Idei said in a statement.
The new structure will simplify Sony's internal organization "at a time when the world is getting a bit more complicated," Stringer said in an interview.
Through its giant electronics side, Sony is a key player in the transition to digital electronics under way in the media and entertainment industries. Stringer said the new structure "simplifies dealmaking" between Sony and other companies involved in the digital transition.
Biz overlap
"I talk to John Calley every day and Tommy Mottola not as much, but the business overlap (between the divisions) is so great that it doesn't make any sense to have a triangular discussion every time," Stringer said.
The autonomy allowed SME and SPE is thought to have hampered negotiations on certain business deals, although Sony said Mottola and Calley would "maintain full responsibility for the day-to-day running of their respective operations."
Stringer dismissed any suggestion of difficulties with Mottola, however. "Tommy was very happy (with the new structure) because it makes his life a bit easier," Stringer said.
For his part, Calley professed himself happy with the new arrangement. "Howard is a colleague of mine, a first-rate executive, and I'm thrilled for any involvement he wants to have (in SPE)," Calley said.
He noted that although Stringer's skills were commonly perceived to lean towards the technological and digital side of Sony's businesses, the exec had plenty of creative experience.
"Howard is not a 'suit,' " Calley said. "He is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, and a one-time head of the CBS network news department."
Sony sources denied that Stringer -- who retains his titles as chairman of Sony Canada and Sony Electronics --would be stretched too thinly. Teri Aoki, president of Sony Electronics, may get enhanced duties as a result of the shift.
In addition, the enhancement of Stringer's role will allow Idei to take a step back and focus on the global Sony -- a $51 billion company. Idei has been a more proactive figure in Sony's U.S. operations since the notorious $2.7 billion hit the Japanese conglom took on its film operations in 1995.
The new SCA structure is similar in some respects to the regime headed by Michael Schulhof, who was president of SCA and dealt directly with Tokyo, until his departure after the writedown.
Not going public
Stringer dismissed speculation that the new structure was intended as a prelude to a long-predicted initial public offering of SCA's music and film interests. "We are not working on an IPO at all now," Stringer said.
But Sony has been involved in negotiations with several other major entertainment companies about potential deals, including talking in the past few months with CBS about a merger of the broadcaster with SME and SPE.
People close to Sony said the simpler structure would facilitate future discussions in that area, as Stringer would be the point person in the future rather than all three execs.
