■ Business Trips

Recent business travel has provided me with the opportunity to meet directly with many of you across the Sony Group, as well as management from other companies. In May I visited Davos, Ohio, San Mateo, and New York, while in June I traveled to London, and then in July I was back in the US again at Sun Valley.

While I have become accustomed to communicating online amidst the changing work environment of the past two years, and appreciate its convenience, these recent business trips reminded me again of the benefits that can only be gained through face-to-face, "live" interaction. When I visited the offices of our three entertainment companies in London, and saw the active engagement taking place between employees in the same location, I sensed again the importance of interacting in a real setting for maximizing creativity.

At the Sony Interactive Entertainment office in San Mateo

At the Sony Pictures Entertainment office in London Together with Wayne Garvie, President, International Production, Sony Pictures Television (4th from left) and the team

At Sony Music Entertainment in London (Click the image to display names)	At Sony Interactive Entertainment in London (Click the image to display names)

■ Employee Engagement

During these visits, I also had the chance to speak with those of you in charge of human resources at Sony Group companies. As the pandemic continues to drastically change the way we work, employee engagement is more important than ever. At the same time, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and strengthen this engagement. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our human resources teams in each region, for their ongoing dedication to supporting our employees and the Sony Group's business during these challenging times.

With Orit Ziv, head of Human Resources at Sony Interactive Entertainment	With Andrew Davis, head of Human Resources at Sony Music Entertainment

■ Board of Directors Reception

On June 28 we held the 105th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, and 10 Directors were elected to continue their terms from last year. On the same day, we held a reception for the Directors, as well as our leadership team on the executive side. Last year, we were unable to hold this event in person. Going forward I hope that we can take advantage of these communication opportunities where possible, while continuing to take the necessary precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Board of Directors Reception held on June 28
(Click the image to display names)

Next week, at the Group Quarterly Meeting (GQM) on August 3, the theme of my presentation will be "Getting Closer to People's Desires: The Evolution of Technology and the Metaverse." As always, my speech and the entire GQM will be live-streamed, with a recording available after the event, so I hope you take the opportunity to watch it.

As always, I look forward to receiving your feedback.