NOBUYUKI IDEI

By IRENE M. KUNII

Sony never needed new leadership more than it did in April 1995, when Nobuyuki Idei leapfrogged a dozen more senior executives to become the company's president. As the world's trailblazer in entertainment electronics, Sony invaded Hollywood in 1989 by buying Columbia and TriStar Pictures; in November 1994 the corporation took a $3.2 billion write-off for five years of studio mismanagement. Soon afterward, Sony co-founder Akio Morita, who had continued to help guide the company despite suffering a stroke in 1993, resigned as chairman. Then Sony found itself losing ground to rivals in the race to develop the digital videodisc, expected to replace the videocassette recorder and the compact disc.

Now Idei, 59, is turning Sony back into a titan. In recent months, the company has unveiled such digital products as video and still cameras, mobile phones and a video Walkman. In March it will sell its own dvd player, to be followed by a multimedia home computer. Despite its studio setbacks, Sony will put more weight on entertainment. "Our movie business will be very important for the future of Sony," Idei says. "We will integrate electronics and entertainment into one and create a company like Warner Bros. or Disney."

Idei appears to be inspired by Morita, who years ago foresaw the integration of entertainment electronics hardware and software. Like Morita, Idei is cosmopolitan, speaking fluent English and French and favoring stylish suits. As a youth he dreamed of becoming a violinist but gave that up to major in economics at Tokyo's Waseda University. Idei is now Sony's guru, instructing engineers--his Digital Dream Kids--in the art of merging home electronics with information technology. "We're going to make the home much more exciting," Idei predicts.

--By Irene M. Kunii