Sony continued its CEO shakeup today by naming Kunimasa Suzuki as the new head of Sony Mobile Communications. Current president and CEO, Bert Nordberg, will step down and become chairman of Sony Mobile Communications' board.
Suzuki will be in charge of planning and design related to all of Sony's consumer products and services, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. He will assume his new role on May 16 and be based in Lund, Sweden and Tokyo.
"Kuni has a vast experience in product planning and management in the information technology and mobile product business, as well as experience of cultivating business in emerging markets," said Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Corporation. "He is a strong leader and the right person to oversee Sony Mobile Communications as we establish a new business structure as 'One Sony' intended to reinforce and accelerate our overall business management."
That "One Sony" reorganization was announced last week and will focus on the company's game, mobile, and digital imaging businesses. The move dissolved Sony's Consumer Products and Services Group, which included its consumer electronics, game and network services, as well as its Professional Device and Solutions Group, which included B2B products and services.
"During my years with Sony Ericsson and now Sony Mobile Communications, I've seen the mobile industry change at a rapid pace," Nordberg said in a statement. "We've shifted the company from feature phones to a smartphone company, and established Xperia as the Sony smartphone with consumers and operators around the world."
Hirai, meanwhile, has been on the job for just a few days, having assumed the CEO post from Howard Stringer on April 1. During a recent appearance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Hirai pledged to "rebuild" Sony after a bruising 2011 that saw big losses and a devastating hack of the PlayStation Network.
Also at MWC, Sony unveiled its latest smartphones, the Xperia U and Xperia P. For more, see PCMag's hands on with the devices and the slideshow below.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
