In a not too surprising move, Sony has announced that Hiroki Totoki (Corporate Planning, Finance and New Business) will replace Kunimasa Suzuki (pictured above) as CEO of Sony Mobile Communications starting on November 16th, 2014. During his time as head of Sony Mobile, Suzuki has helped Sony navigate past their partnership with Ericsson and bring mobile directly under Sony in Japan. Despite being one of the head architect of the Sony Xperia Z line initiative (the company’s flagship smartphone and tablet), Sony has seen their mobile share erode which was set to be one of the three pillars of the One Sony strategy under Kaz Hirai and was designed to help the struggling giant return to profitability.

In 2013, Sony had shipped nearly 40 million smartphones and projected 50 million units sold for 2014. Come mid-summer 2014, Sony revised their FY 2014 sales figures downwards by 7 million, resulting in a $2.1 billion loss for FY 2014. It’s believed that Sony will likely not hit that lower targeted forecast either and will finish the year flat. Under Hiroki Totoki, Sony is looking to move away from their ill-planned 6 month product cycle which saw the company release two flagship smartphones every year.

While the move was designed to help the company catch up to competitors, it’s been nothing but pain, due to Sony’s inability to get carrier support and ship products on time. This resulted in some territories receiving a smartphone just when a new one was being announced. Totoki is currently one of the top lieutenants  to Sony CEO, Kaz Hirai. The new role changes will see Kunimasa Suzuki move to an Executive Vice President role.

Discuss:

Do you think replacing the head of Sony Mobile will help the struggling division?

[Via Reuters]