Sir Howard Stringer (born 19 February 1942) is a Welsh-American businessman. He had a 30-year career at CBS, culminating in him serving as the president of

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

from 1986 to 1988, then president of CBS from 1988 to 1995. He served as chairman of the board, chairman, president and CEO of

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Corporation from 2005 to 2012. He is also the head of the board of trustees of the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

and now serves as a non-executive director of the BBC. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1999.

Early life

Stringer was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, Wales, the son of Marjorie Mary (née Pook), a Welsh schoolteacher, and Harry Stringer, a sergeant in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. His younger brother,

Rob Stringer Robert Adrian Stringer (born; August 13, 1962) is a British music industry executive. He is the chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He is also a Director of Luton Town F.C. Stringer was listed Second on the 202 ...

, was president of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Label Group. Stringer attended 11 secondary schools by the time he was 16, including

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

in Northamptonshire. He received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...

Career

Stringer moved to the United States in 1965. After working at CBS's flagship station

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...

for six weeks, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

, and served as a military policeman in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

for ten months in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He did not serve in combat, but was awarded the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

for meritorious achievement. Stringer returned to CBS, where he had a 30-year career. He started in a series of lowly jobs, including answering backstage phones for ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''. In 1976, he became executive producer of the documentary series ''

CBS Reports ''CBS Reports'' is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with ''60 Minutes'' (or other similar CBS News series), as a series of it ...

''.Biography for Howard Stringer
–

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Then, from 1981 to 1984, he was executive producer of the '' CBS Evening News with Dan Rather''. In 1986, he became president of

as a whole. He then served as president of CBS from 1988 to 1995, where he was responsible for all the broadcast activities of its entertainment, news, sports, radio and television stations.

Tele-TV

Stringer left CBS in 1995 to become CEO of Tele-TV, a newly created media and technology company formed by US telecoms

Bell Atlantic Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...

NYNEX NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England ( Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. H ...

and

Pacific Telesis Pacific Telesis Group was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, sometimes also referred to as "RBOCs" or "Baby Bells", created in 1983 in preparation of the breakup of AT&T as a holding company for Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, Pa ...

, as well as

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...

. Tele-TV represented an early attempt at a

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

service, which streamed content over the phone network. The company was unsuccessful, and shut down most of its operations in early 1997, after having spent roughly $500 million. Stringer left at that time.Griffiths, Katherine.
Sir Howard Stringer, US Head Of Sony: Sony's knight buys Tinseltown dream.
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 18 September 2004

Sony

Stringer began work at Sony in May 1997 as president of its US operational unit ( Sony Corporation of America). He was made a Sony group executive officer in May 1998. Since 22 June 2005, he served as Chairman of Sony, overseeing businesses such as

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Sony Electronics , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

and

Sony Financial Holdings , founded on 1 April 2004 as Sony Financial Holdings Inc., is a Japanese holding company for Sony's financial services business and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It operates various businesses, including both life and non-life insurances, ...

, succeding

Nobuyuki Idei Nobuyuki Idei (出井伸之, ''Idei Nobuyuki''; 22 November 1937 – 2 June 2022) was a Japanese businessman. He was chairman and group chief executive officer of Sony Corporation until 7 March 2005. He was a director of General Motors, Baidu, ...

. On 1 April 2009, he became president of Sony Corporation and ousted Ryoji Chubachi in what was seen as prelude to broader corporate restructuring. Stringer also served as executive chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Corporation of America, and as president of Sony Broadband Entertainment Corporation since March 2000. Stringer was promoted to the company's top position as the corporation overall was having trouble with losses and was facing increasing competition from rivals such as

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

, Apple Inc. and

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

. With his experience primarily in the media industry, Stringer was responsible for the media business of Sony in the U.S. by overseeing the release of the

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

film series, among others. As CEO, Stringer's initial focus was on streamlining Sony's electronics business, such as through its Bravia TV joint venture with

. Stringer was instrumental in arranging Sony's investment in

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

, which earned Sony a profit of nearly $1 billion upon Sony's partial exit in 2018. Nonetheless, Sony's share price fell by 60 per cent from when Stringer assumed the role of group chairman until his resignation as CEO was announced in 2012, due in part to exchange rates and the effects of the

2011 Tohoku earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

. On 1 February 2012, Sony announced that Stringer would step down as president and CEO, effective 1 April to be replaced by

Kazuo Hirai is a Japanese businessman. He is best known as the former chairman of Sony Corporation, serving from April 2018 to June 2019, as well as president and CEO from April 2012 to April 2018. He also served as a board member of Sony Computer Entertain ...

, executive deputy president and chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment. Stringer relinquished his title of chairman of Sony and became chairman of the board of Sony in June ('Chairman of Sony' and 'Chairman of the Board of Directors' are separate positions at Sony). In June 2013, Stringer retired as chairman of the board of Sony. While serving as the chief of Sony in Tokyo, Stringer maintained a home in New York while his family lived in England. In a 2014 speech, Stringer expressed his frustrations with his time at Sony, saying, "Running a big company is like running a cemetery: there are thousands of people beneath you, but no one is listening. It was a bit like that at Sony." He specifically lamented that Sony had a "

not invented here Not invented here (NIH) is the tendency to avoid using or buying products, research, standards, or knowledge from external origins. It is usually adopted by social, corporate, or institutional cultures. Research illustrates a strong bias against ...

" mentality that did not suit an increasingly digital world, and which Stringer was unable to shake off.

Awards and honours

Stringer has received the following awards and honours: * U.S. Army Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement during the

* Radio and Television News Directors Foundation's First Amendment Leadership Award, 1996 * ''

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcas ...

'' Hall of Fame, 1996 *

UJA The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Cou ...

-Federation of New York's Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award, May 1999 *

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Welsh Hall of Fame, November 1999 *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

, from Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, December 1999 *

Museum of Television and Radio The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to t ...

Visionary Award for Innovative Leadership in Media and Entertainment, February 2007 *

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

honorary fellowship, 2000 * Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama honorary fellowship, 2001 He has also been honoured by Lincoln Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, The New York Hall of Science and The American Theatre Wing, and has received Honorary Doctorates from the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

in Wales and University of the Arts London.

Personal life

In July 1978, String married Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson. They have two children. He became a naturalised American citizen in 1985. He was

on 31 December 1999.

In popular culture

Stringer was portrayed by Peter Jurasik in the 1996 HBO film '' The Late Shift'', about the conflict between

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

and

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

during Stringer's tenure at CBS in the early 1990s. He appeared on the BBC radio programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' in 2013.

References

External links

"Howard Stringer biography"
– Sony Corporation website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Howard 1942 births Living people Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama American chief executives American male journalists American military police officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American television producers Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Paramount Global people Knights Bachelor People educated at Oundle School Businesspeople from Cardiff Sony people Welsh emigrants to the United States International Emmy Founders Award winners British chairpersons of corporations British chief executives Presidents of CBS News United States Army soldiers Fellows of Merton College, Oxford