Word: schulhofer
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...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...
...Schulhof, a physicist with a Ph.D. from Brandeis University, rose through the technical ranks of Sony's U.S. operations, where he caught the eye of Morita. "From the beginning, Mr. Morita and Mr. Ohga took a liking to me," Schulhof proudly recalls. For 20 years "there was a chemistry that worked. I talked to Mr. Ohga at least once a day and Mr. Morita once every three days. We operated in a collegial fashion. There was almost nothing in writing...
Armed with his broad mandate from Morita, Schulhof scooped up CBS Records and Columbia. "CBS asked, 'Are you authorized to sign this?' when we were ready to close the deal," Schulhof remembers. "It never occurred to to me that I needed authorization. Mr. Morita...
...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...
There was little sympathy for Schulhof in Hollywood, where fellow moguls delighted in the downfall of a rival who was widely regarded as an interloper. Schulhof, the buzz said, may have been in Hollywood, but he was never really of it. Schulhof added to Sony's 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...