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Sony Ericsson says Flint steps down as president
Tue Sep 4, 2007 2:22AM EDT
STOCKHOLM, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday its president, Miles Flint, would step down and that the chairman of Sony Electronics USA would succeed him as of Nov 1.
Flint said in a statement that after 17 years at Sony Ericsson he wanted to develop new personal and business opportunities.
Hideki Komiyama will succeed Flint. As well as being chairman of Sony Electronics USA, Komiyama is also executive vice president of electronics marketing and sales strategies for Sony Corp, the statement said.
http://www.reuters.com/articl[....]telco-SP/idUSSAT00448120070904
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Posted: 2007-09-04 09:23:37
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Press Release
Sony Ericsson announces change of leadership effective 1st November
04 September 2007
London, UK – 4th September 2007- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications today announces that Miles Flint has decided to step down from his position as President of Sony Ericsson. Effective 1st November Hideki ‘Dick’ Komiyama, currently Chairman of the Board of Sony Electronics Inc., USA, and EVP Electronics Marketing and Sales Strategies of Sony Corporation, Japan, will succeed Miles Flint, who will remain as Executive Advisor to Dick Komiyama until the end of December 2007. Dick Komiyama will be based at Sony Ericsson’s offices in London.
Commenting on today’s announcement Miles Flint said, “After nearly 17 years in Sony and Sony Ericsson, I wish to develop new personal and business opportunities and intend to take a short career break before deciding on my next steps. Leading a major mobile handset company which is also a joint venture between two of the world’s great companies has been a wonderful and rewarding experience. The belief amongst shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers in the potential of Sony Ericsson has been a huge motivating factor in the company’s success to date. I believe that, together, we have in place very firm foundations for the next phase of Sony Ericsson’s growth, and I wish Dick Komiyama every success in his new role.”
Miles Flint joined Sony Ericsson from Sony Europe in June 2004. Under his leadership the company has enjoyed a period of outstanding growth and success, as well as the development of a richer and broader product portfolio, including the introduction of Walkman® music phones and Cyber-shot™ imaging phones worldwide. Sony Ericsson has grown to become No. 4 in the global mobile handset industry and is today one of the most innovative and attractive brands for mobile communications and entertainment.
Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman of the Board of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and President and CEO of Ericsson, said, “Miles Flint’s contribution to Sony Ericsson has been very impressive. He has led and managed the company to reach its current level of success, and we are very sorry to see him leave. However we fully understand and respect his reasons for wishing to step down and consider new personal and business opportunities.” He added, “Miles has been clear that his number one priority in the short term is to ensure a smooth handover to his successor and he will continue to be involved with Sony Ericsson’s business until the end of the year. He transfers the leadership of a business that is poised for significant further growth in the years to come.”
Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation, and a member of the Board of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, said, “We will miss Miles Flint enormously, but fully respect his wish to change direction. Under his leadership Sony Ericsson has doubled sales and volume, as well as more than doubling the company’s profitability, whilst also gaining global market share. Today Sony Ericsson’s position as a leading player in the global mobile handset industry is unquestioned.” He added, “I am delighted that Dick Komiyama, an esteemed colleague and international executive who has worked shoulder to shoulder with me at Sony Electronics in the USA and Sony in Japan will carry on the vision of Katsumi Ihara, Sony Ericsson’s first president, and of Miles Flint. With longstanding experience in the areas of consumer electronics marketing and business-to-business sales, Dick has accepted the challenge to lead Sony Ericsson in the next phase of its growth and development.”
Dick Komiyama said, “I am very pleased to be joining Sony Ericsson. The global mobile handset industry is facing some very interesting and exciting developments, especially with the convergence of audio and video technologies in the mobile communications space. New services and applications are becoming increasingly important to both operators and consumers, and I look forward to bringing to Sony Ericsson my experience in consumer marketing with a deep understanding of customer relationships.”
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Posted: 2007-09-04 09:47:32
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WOAH!
Is this an omen? will we see Mr. Flint going to some Linux OS phone manufacturer that some other president of Symbian did less than 30 days ago?
Hmm this is NOT good for SE. SE better start to have someone that can focus and bring in the rains. Will this mean a stronger partnership between Sony's computing, gaming, photo business' and SE's lineup in the near future or just reshuffling. ?
Hmm.
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Posted: 2007-09-04 09:56:22
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Wow!
That was sudden but at least it is on good terms and the company is in a lot better shape than it was when he joined - if you remember it was bleeding millions of dollars early on and it has been transformed under Sir Miles Flint.
Dick Komiyama - come on down!
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Posted: 2007-09-04 09:58:47
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Congratulations to Miles Flint for the outstanding progress
has achieved under his leadership. The new president has big shoes to fill...
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Posted: 2007-09-04 10:27:45
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Bloomberg - Sony Ericsson Names Komiyama Chief as Flint Resigns
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd., the mobile-phone venture of Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB, named Hideki Komiyama chief executive officer to succeed Miles Flint, picking a Sony veteran of four decades to spur growth.
Flint, 54, will remain executive adviser to the new CEO until the end of the year, the London-based company said in a statement today. Komiyama, 64, helped Sony win market share in the U.S. with color televisions and personal computers. He's now chairman of Sony Electronics Inc.
Sony Ericsson's sales, unit shipments and profit more than doubled under Flint, allowing it to leapfrog LG Electronics Inc. as the world's fourth-largest handset maker. The success was built on high-end phones, leading to the best margins in the industry. Flint's departure after more than three years comes after Sony Ericsson in July reported the slowest profit growth in almost two years after expanding into lower-priced models.
``Flint has done a good job so far, so the news is disappointing,'' said Stuart Jeffrey, an analyst at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in London.
Sony Ericsson now trails Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Inc. Among the company's best-selling phones in the last quarter was the W880i, which is as thin as a CD case and can store as many as 900 songs. Other popular devices include the K810i, which comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera.
`Good Job'
In the five years since Sony and Ericsson combined their handset units, the venture developed from an unprofitable company into one of the largest earnings contributors to the two parents.
``The news was a surprise, there had been no indications that Flint might be leaving,'' said Jan Dworsky, an analyst at Handelsbanken Capital Markets, who rates Ericsson ``reduce.'' ``Since he's staying on to advise the new CEO it doesn't sound like there's a business related reason behind his departure.''
Flint took over in 2004 from Katsumi Ihara, who had made the venture profitable and became its chairman. Under Flint, Sony Ericsson pushed higher-priced models with high-resolution cameras and music players, allowing the company to sell its models at a higher average selling price than rivals including Nokia.
Sony Ericsson reported a 54 percent increase in second- quarter net income to 220 million euros ($299 million), as it shipped 24.9 million phones.
Flint, who intends to take ``a short career break'' before deciding on his next moves, will ``develop new personal and business opportunities,'' he said in the release.
Vaio Turnaround
Two years after joining Sony in 1967, Komiyama moved to the company's U.S. subsidiary, where he worked in areas including Sony's consumer video marketing, computer systems and displays.
His recent accomplishments include establishing Sony's personal computer business in the U.S., reviving the Vaio PC brand ``at a time when Sony's presence in the highly competitive computer industry was barely noted,'' according to his biography on Sony's Web site.
Komiyama, who is nicknamed Dick and has worked alongside Sony CEO Howard Stringer in the U.S. and Japan, holds a master of business administration from the Wharton School of Business and Finance and completed a management program at Harvard Business School. He has a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Waseda University in Tokyo. He's married with two children.
``With longstanding experience in the areas of consumer electronics marketing and business-to-business sales, Dick has accepted the challenge to lead Sony Ericsson in the next phase of its growth and development,'' Stringer said in the release.
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Posted: 2007-09-04 11:40:37
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On 2007-09-04 09:56:22, Prom1 wrote:
WOAH!
Is this an omen? will we see Mr. Flint going to some Linux OS phone manufacturer that some other president of Symbian did less than 30 days ago?
Hmm this is NOT good for SE. SE better start to have someone that can focus and bring in the rains. Will this mean a stronger partnership between Sony's computing, gaming, photo business' and SE's lineup in the near future or just reshuffling. ?
Hmm.
which project you aiming at?
openmoko? opie? gpe? greenpoint? xtoox?
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Posted: 2007-09-04 11:57:11
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I think this is a good move. He is staying on as an advisor and it looks like he is leaving for personal reasons rather than because of a bust-up.
The new president has 40 years behind him and a good track record with Sony just like Miles Flint had.
Sorry Ericsson fans, but another Sony guy has taken the reins again
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Posted: 2007-09-04 12:11:56
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woof...fast....wonder wats up new in Dick Komiyama's sleeve's!
R
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Posted: 2007-09-04 12:16:26
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NOOOOoooooooooooo.................. Goodbye Dear Mr Flint...... And hope the successor will carry on and make SE fluorish as usual ^^
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Posted: 2007-09-04 12:19:23
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