San Diego – Sony Electronics (SEL) announced Wednesday a major realignment of its consumer electronics operations that will see Mike Abary, formerly senior VP of the company’s IT products division, move to a similar role for consumer electronics.
In the move, Abary will report to Stan Glasgow, SEL president and COO, for both consumer and professional products as the senior VP for SEL’s home division (HD). The home division includes TV and home entertainment products.
Abary replaces Hiro Kawano, who returned to Japan in a Sony United effort as president of Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan (SCEJ), overseeing the game business in the Japanese market, Sony said.
Kawano did not have oversight of the consumer products group in his role at SEL.
Abary’s role will be one of four division business unit heads, which also includes the customer platform group.
He will work closely with all SEL business units, including the home division, the personal imaging and audio division (Brennan Mullin), the networked technology and services division (Mike Lucas), and the media application and solution division to be filled), to ensure consistency and swift cross-platform decision making.
Chris Fawcett, who took over product planning for TV shortly after the start of the year, will remain it that role, reporting to Abary, along with Brian Siegel, who now heads up product planning for HAV, and Jeff Goldstein, who handles product planning for network TV products.
Mike Fasulo remains as chief marketing officer over the customer platform group, which includes sales, marketing, retail execution and service.
For the last 10 years Abary has been associated with Sony’s Vaio products.
“My intention is to break the niche role [so] that speed and innovation that is normally associated with IT is brought the TV and home audio/video business,” Abary told TWICE. “The TV business is changing rapidly. Probably more so now than it ever, ever has. When I review and look at it, I see much more similarity to the PC business, more and more.”
Abary said Sony has to bring a different mindset to the TV business as IP technology makes up a large part of the TV design. He cited 3D and Internet capabilities in TVs as areas will be looking to have Sony take on a leadership role.
The industry can expect Sony to take aggressive and decisive steps quickly in its decision making, he said.
