Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) announced on Thursday that it appointed Tony Vinciquerra, the former Fox TV executive as the new head of its film and TV division.
Sony stated that Vinciquerra would commence his tenure as the head of its film and TV division, Sony Entertainment as of June 1. He will take over from the current chief executive Michael Lynton who announced earlier this year that he planned to step down. Lynton did not reveal the reasons behind his decision to leave Sony or his next step from there. However, he made a huge contribution to the company during his leadership.
“He will replace Michael Lynton, who announced in January that he would step down in the spring,” Sony stated.
Will Vinciquerra be the right man for the job?
Sony’s film and TV division produced some successful hits during Lynton’s tenure as the chief executive. Some of them include the “James Bond” franchise and hit TV shows such as “The Blacklist” and “Breaking Bad.” It is thus clear that the company has been hard at work and so Vinciquerra has very big shoes to fill. It is, however, worth noting that he was selected from a group of highly qualified individuals as the most suitable candidate for the job.
Former Fox executive Peter Liguori was also shortlisted for the job but this time Vinciquerra took the win. They were shortlisted together in 2013 by Tribune Media which was looking for a new head but Liguori was selected. He stepped down from the position in January this year.
Despite having some major successes, all has not been well in the film and TV division following the 2014 hack that saw it struggle to get back on its feet amid a shortage of major hits. Earlier this year, it wrote down roughly $1 billion in its movie business. The company is therefore tasked with making some changes that will be geared towards improving the performance of the division as well as coming up with fresh content. This means that Vinciquerra has a lot of work ahead of him and the pressure to deliver is certainly intense.
Sony stock closed the latest trading session on Thursday at $35.59 after dropping by 0.03 percent drop from the value of the stock during the previous close.