Word: idei
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...until last week, however, that Sony finally removed Schulhof, the architect of its Hollywood dreams and the only American ever to sit on its board. With Morita sidelined since his 1993 stroke and unable to protect him, and new president Nobuyuki Idei, 57, clearly ascendant, Schulhof, 53, resigned after conferring with Sony chairman Norio Ohga, his remaining Tokyo mentor. Ohga "felt he had no choice but to support Mr. Idei," Schulhof told Time in an interview. "Therefore I could not stay here...
...ouster is the most dramatic move so far by Idei, a former marketing executive who was Ohga's surprise pick in April as president and heir apparent. In the past few months on the board, Idei persuaded Ohga, who has always been partial to Schulhof, that it was time for his protege to go. Like Morita and Ohga, Idei is a cosmopolitan blend of East and West. He speaks fluent English and French, loves gadgets and rock 'n' roll, and favors stylish Italian attire. A high-energy executive who has trouble sitting still, Idei navigates Tokyo streets in a Jaguar...
...good times ended with the arrival of Idei, who kept a tight watch on his American subordinate. Says Schulhof: "I have received many, many written memoranda in the past six months from Mr. Idei outlining his views of how I should do things. Stylistically, it was not something I was used to dealing with." Schulhof concluded that his mandate to meld entertainment and electronics was over. "He's truly a visionary," says a former Sony executive. "He bet the ship that profits would ultimately come from this concept, but it didn't work in the short term...
...Hollywood expenses with the corps of studio chieftains who came and went at TriStar and Columbia, often departing with golden handshakes. Guber reportedly left with $40 million and a $200 million agreement from Sony to back him in a new company, an arrangement that was said to have infuriated Idei. A Hollywood executive summed up the prevailing view of Columbia as a place filled with "huge, bloated hogs feeding at a trough." Schulhof, who could take home a severance package worth some $40 million, dismisses the porcine image. "There may have been some overspending," he concedes...
...while Sony may be at a crossroads, the company staunchly denies having plans to leave Hollywood. Idei has stressed the importance of both entertainment and electronics to the future of Sony. He hammered home the point again last week in a statement declaring that "there is a definite linkage of hardware and software. Our companies will work together to maximize our business opportunities. That's Sony's big advantage." To further buttress this notion, Idei said, the heads of Sony's U.S. film, music and electronics businesses will for the first time sit together on the executive committee that oversees...