S.E. exec steps down

Corporate-speak is designed to be opaque, so when Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications issued a release today stating that President Miles Flint was stepping down and would “take a short career break,” it would be legitimate to question whether he resigned voluntarily or was asked to do so. Typically, top executives don’t take short career breaks while the company they guide is outperforming the industry.
Hideki “Dick” Komiyama, currently chairman of the board of Sony Electronics Inc. USA, and executive VP of electronics marketing and sales strategies at Sony Corp. Japan, will take Flint’s job in London effective Nov. 1.
Flint joined SEMC in June 2004 and spent 17 years at Sony, then Sony Ericsson. The Japanese-Swedish joint venture has had an impressive string of quarters for nearly two years under Flint, growing profit and volume at a rate that outpaced its competitors.
That success has taken SEMC to No. 4 in global handset vendor rankings. Last week, SEMC placed new emphasis on its long-held goal of becoming one of the top three handset vendors, which would require even greater growth in unit shipment volume. Such a move could imperil the JV’s impressive track record in profitability-at least that was the case with Motorola Inc.’s downfall, which has encouraged Sony Ericsson to reach for more share.
As recently as March, Flint continued to emphasize profits over share and it is possible that Flint’s continued insistence in this vein did not jibe with executives at the two parent corporations, which have seen the mobile handset business become a significant revenue source. In an interview with RCR Wireless News in March, Flint said, “Without profit, you’re nothing. It’s baked into our DNA: profit before growth.”
Perhaps Sony Ericsson has baked itself a new DNA and, with profitability at satisfactory levels, has decided to pursue market share.
“We have in place very firm foundations for the next phase of Sony Ericsson’s growth,” Flint said in today’s release.
“He transfers the leadership of a business that is poised for significant further growth in the years to come,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of the board of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and president and CEO of Ericsson.
Komiyama may have hinted at the company’s direction when he added:
“The global mobile handset industry is facing . exciting developments, especially with the convergence of audio and video technologies in the mobile communications space. New services and applications are becoming increasingly important to both operators and consumers.”