Electronics giant Sony Corporation has said the COO and president of Sony Electronics Inc. in the U.S. (SEL), Phil Molyneux, will assume the post of non-executive chairman.
Sony is currently exerting a lot of effort into re-establishing the brand as one of the top electronics manufacturers in the United States. The company is pinning its hopes on its new 4K resolution Ultra HD television sets to gain more market share in the country.
"Phil Molynuex, who has ably served Sony for more than a quarter century, came to SEL in 2010 with a specific mission: to transform the business in the face of daunting industry-wide challenges, reducing costs and streamlining operations," said CEO and President of Sony Corporation, Kazuo Hirai.
"He accomplished those goals and laid a firm foundation for future growth. All of us at Sony are grateful for his dedicated service and passionate commitment to the employees he led for the past three-plus years," Hirai said.
Michael Fasulo will be replacing Molyneux as president of the company. In addition, Toshifumi Okuda will also be stepping up as the deputy president of SEL. The changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Fasulo is the company's current head of sales and executive vice president while Okuda is an executive from Japan who will be coming to the U.S. to serve under his new position.
"Mike and Okuda-san's strong backgrounds in sales and marketing will serve them well as SEL puts renewed focus on customer relations to drive expansion of our business in the United States," said Hirai. "The industry continues to be challenged by economic conditions in the US as it is elsewhere in the world, but I am confident that Mike and Okuda-san will build on the progress achieved by Phil and make SEL's future even brighter than its illustrious past."
Fasulo has stated that he feels honored by the "critical role" he has been given. He has also voiced out that he has the resolve to carry out the tasks that new position requires and to validate the faith that Hirai has put in him. "I am equally inspired by Hirai-san's confidence in me, and am very excited to be leading the folks I've worked with at Sony Electronics for many years. I look forward to Okuda-san's arrival and working as one team to rejuvenate this brand I love," said Fasulo.
