In a surprise management shake-up at Sony Corp., Howard Stringer, the conglomerate's vice chairman and head of its U.S. operations -- including its booming film unit -- was expected to be named chairman and CEO of the whole company late Sunday. Chairman and CEO Nobuyuki Idei offered to step down amid continuing weakness in the company's electronics business and proposed to make Stringer -- who besides the vice chairman title also holds the title of chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America -- his successor, which would see a foreigner ascend to the top post at a major Japanese company -- an extremely rare occurrence in Japan and the first time it has happened in the 59-year history of Sony. Stringer's rise to the top also means that an executive from the entertainment side of the business is taking over the electronics conglomerate. One of Stringer's challenges will be to look for cross-pollination opportunities between Sony's businesses.
