Akio Morita
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
A co-founder who joined at the company's establishment in May 1946 as Managing Director, he handled sales and overseas business while Masaru Ibuka oversaw technology. He moved to New York with his family and, turning down an OEM offer from the U.S. watchmaker Bulova, bet on exporting under the company's own "SONY" brand. At the time Japanese manufacturers typically exported as subcontractors to U.S. companies, and choosing to sell under its own unknown name was unusual. His capital backing, however, was thin: in the period ended October 1974 the largest shareholder was Moxley & Company with 34.36%, while Morita personally held 1.36%, ranking eighth.
Selection
In June 1971 he succeeded Masaru Ibuka as President, and Ibuka became Chairman. In the period ended October 1970, the year before he took office, sales were ¥129.9 billion and ordinary income ¥14.3 billion. In 1970 the company decided on a ¥20 billion capital investment for Trinitron mass production; exports accounted for 60% of total sales, with the United States taking 37%. Foreign shareholding had reached 32.14%, close to the then limit of 33%. As the weight of the United States grew in both markets and capital, the top job passed to the man who had handled both since the founding.
Initiatives
His tenure as president lasted about five years, during which sales rose from ¥159.7 billion in the period ended October 1971 to ¥295.5 billion in the period ended October 1975. The decisions that most changed the company's course came after he stepped down, as Chairman. In 1987, seeing the limits of competing on hardware alone, Morita drew on the experience of tape recorders giving rise to prerecorded software as his motive for a software business. CBS/Sony Records, established in March 1968 as a joint venture with CBS Inc., became a wholly owned subsidiary in January 1988, leading to the successive acquisitions of CBS Records and Columbia Pictures.
Career
Career
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1946 | Managing Director (at founding) |
| Jun 1971 | President |
| Jan 1976 | Chairman |
| Jan 1976 | Stepped down as President |