Howard Stringer | |
|---|---|
 Stringer at opening night of the 2009Metropolitan Opera | |
| Born | (1942-02-19)19 February 1942 (age 83) |
| Education | University of Oxford |
| Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford[1][2] Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama |
| Occupation | Non-executive director of theBBC |
| Spouse | Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson |
| Family | Rob Stringer (brother) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1965–1967 |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War |
Sir Howard Stringer (born 19 February 1942) is a Welsh-American businessman. He had a 30-year career atCBS, culminating in him serving as the president ofCBS News from 1986 to 1988, then president of CBS from 1988 to 1995. He served as chairman of the board, chairman, president and CEO ofSony Corporation from 2005 to 2012.[3] He is also the head of the board of trustees of theAmerican Film Institute and now serves as a non-executive director of theBBC. He wasknighted in 1999.
Stringer was born inCardiff, Wales, the son of Marjorie Mary (née Pook), a Welsh schoolteacher, and Harry Stringer, a sergeant in theRoyal Air Force.[4]
His younger brother,Rob Stringer, was president ofSony Music Label Group.[5]
Stringer attended 11 secondary schools by the time he was 16, includingOundle School in Northamptonshire.[1][dubious –discuss] He received aMaster of Arts from theUniversity of Oxford inModern History.[6]
Stringer moved to the United States in 1965. After working atCBS's flagship stationWCBS-TV for six weeks, he wasdrafted into theUnited States Army, and served as amilitary policeman inSaigon for ten months in theVietnam War.[7][8][9][10] He did not serve in combat, but was awarded theArmy Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement.
Stringer returned to CBS, where he had a 30-year career. He started in a series of lowly jobs, including answering backstage phones forThe Ed Sullivan Show.[11] In 1976, he became executive producer of the documentary seriesCBS Reports.[12] Then, from 1981 to 1984, he was executive producer of theCBS Evening News with Dan Rather.[12] In 1986, he became president ofCBS News as a whole.[12] He then served as president of CBS from 1988 to 1995, where he was responsible for all the broadcast activities of its entertainment, news, sports, radio and television stations.[6] During Stringer's tenure, CBS gained the services ofDavid Letterman with hisLate Show but also lostNational Football League rights to the upstartFox Broadcasting Company, leading several CBS affiliates to align with the latter.[13]
Stringer left CBS in 1995 to become CEO ofTele-TV, a newly created media and technology company formed by US telecomsBell Atlantic,NYNEX andPacific Telesis, as well asCreative Artists Agency. Tele-TV represented an early attempt at avideo on demand service, which streamed content over the phone network. The company was unsuccessful, and shut down most of its operations in early 1997, after having spent roughly $500 million. Stringer left at that time.[14][15]
Stringer began work at Sony in May 1997 as president of its US operational unit (Sony Corporation of America). He was made a Sony group executive officer in May 1998.[14]
From 22 June 2005, Stringer served as Chairman of Sony, overseeing businesses such asSony Computer Entertainment,Sony Music Entertainment,Sony Electronics,Sony Pictures Entertainment andSony Financial Holdings, succeedingNobuyuki Idei.[16] On 1 April 2009, he became president of Sony Corporation and oustedRyoji Chubachi in what was seen as prelude to broader corporate restructuring.[17] Stringer also served as executive chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Corporation of America, and as president of Sony Broadband Entertainment Corporation since March 2000.[6]
Stringer was promoted to the company's top position as the corporation overall was having trouble with losses and was facing increasing competition from rivals such asSamsung,Sharp,Apple Inc. andPanasonic.[16] With his experience primarily in the media industry, Stringer was responsible for the media business of Sony in the U.S. by overseeing the release of theSpider-Man film series, among others.[18]
As CEO, Stringer's initial focus was on streamlining Sony's electronics business, such as through itsBravia TV joint venture withSamsung.[19] Stringer was instrumental in arranging Sony's investment inSpotify, which earned Sony a profit of nearly $1 billion upon Sony's partial exit in 2018.[20] Nonetheless, Sony's share price fell by 60 per cent from when Stringer assumed the role of group chairman until his resignation as CEO was announced in 2012, due in part to exchange rates and the effects of the2011 Tohoku earthquake.[21]
On 1 February 2012, Sony announced that Stringer would step down as president and CEO, effective 1 April to be replaced byKazuo Hirai, executive deputy president and chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment.[22] Stringer relinquished his title of chairman of Sony and became chairman of the board of Sony in June ('Chairman of Sony' and 'Chairman of the Board of Directors' are separate positions at Sony). In June 2013, Stringer retired as chairman of the board of Sony.[23]
While serving as the chief of Sony in Tokyo, Stringer maintained a home in New York while his family lived in England.[19]
In a 2014 speech, Stringer expressed his frustrations with his time at Sony, saying, "Running a big company is like running a cemetery: there are thousands of people beneath you, but no one is listening. It was a bit like that at Sony." He specifically lamented that Sony had a "not invented here" mentality that did not suit an increasingly digital world, and which Stringer was unable to shake off.[24]
Stringer has received the following awards and honours:[6]
He has also been honoured by Lincoln Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, The New York Hall of Science and The American Theatre Wing, and has received Honorary Doctorates from theUniversity of Glamorgan in Wales andUniversity of the Arts London.
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In July 1978, Stringer married Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson.[26][7] They have two children.
He became a naturalised American citizen in 1985.
He wasknighted byQueen Elizabeth II on 31 December 1999.[27]
Stringer was portrayed byPeter Jurasik in the 1996HBO filmThe Late Shift, about the conflict betweenJay Leno andDavid Letterman during Stringer's tenure at CBS in the early 1990s.
He appeared on the BBC radio programmeDesert Island Discs in 2013.[1]
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman ofSony Corporation 2005–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President ofSony Corporation 2009 – March 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | CEO ofSony Corporation 2005 – March 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Board ofSony Corporation 27 June 2012 – 20 June 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | CEO ofSony Corporation of America 1998 – June 2012 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
