NEWSMAKER-Stringer wins Sony office politics, real fight ahead

By Mayumi Negishi

TOKYO, March 2 (Reuters) - Sony Corp (6758.T) Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer is not one to air his grievances in public.

But after three and a half years at the helm of the fractious electronics giant, the ex-TV journalist could not resist a mild dig at his Japanese managers' failure to eliminate corporate bureaucracy.

"Have I broken down all the silo walls? No. Are they very strong and very thick? Yes ... Inside Japan, there are quite a lot of important silos," Stringer told a news conference on Friday to announce a change in management.

Next month, Welsh-born Stringer will take over President Ryoji Chubachi's position and head Sony's electronics division, which makes Bravia flat TVs, Cybershot digital cameras and Handycam camcorders. [ID:nT212310].

A dual U.S. and British citizen, Stringer was handpicked by his predecessor Nobuyuki Idei, who hoped Stringer's command of movies, TV and other content would balance and guide Chubachi's passion for hardware.

But the Oxford-educated former screenwriter must have been frustrated at engineer-trained Chubachi's unyielding conviction that Sony's recovery had to come from manufacturing technology alone, observers say.

"I think he waited for Chubachi to come around, until he just couldn't wait any longer," said Seiichiro Yonekura, professor of economics at the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University.

"He's a good guy. And like many good guys, his timing may not be the best."