Hiroki Totoki to Replace Kenichiro Yoshida as Sony President

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:03 JST, February 2, 2023

Hiroki Totoki, currently Sony Group Corp.’s executive deputy president and chief financial officer, will be promoted to president and chief operating officer on April 1, the company announced Thursday.

Totoki, 58, will replace Kenichiro Yoshida, the current chairman and president, in the technology giant’s first change of presidency in five years. Yoshida, 63, will remain as chairman and will also take on the role of chief executive officer.

Totoki, a Yamaguchi Prefecture native and graduate of Waseda University, joined what was then Sony Corp. in 1987. He has worked mainly in the finance division, playing a leading role in the establishment of Sony Bank in 2001 and serving as its managing director.

He also led the formation of Sony Honda Mobility Inc., a joint venture with Honda Motor Co. for the development and sales of electric vehicles.

Yoshida was appointed as president and CEO in 2018, and has also served as chairman since 2020. The following year, he spearheaded a reform of the company’s management that included changing the company name to Sony Group. He has been credited with boosting the synergy among Sony’s diverse businesses in consumer electronics, games, music, movies, finances and semiconductors.