• Engadget, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 10:15 AM

Kazuo Hirai will be the new CEO and president of Sony, validating rumors that have been swirling for a few weeks now. Outgoing CEO Howard Stringer, meanwhile, has been appointed chairman of Sony's board of directors.

Hirai steps up April 1, while Stringer will remain executive chairman until he takes his new role in June. Last April, Hirai was named executive deputy president; five months later, he was promoted to Sony Computer Entertainment chairman. According to Stringer, in fact, Sony has been grooming Hirai since 2009, when the board began designing its succession plans.

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