■ Two Global Meetings

Global Sustainability Conference
Last month, the heads of our sustainability efforts at each of our businesses across the Sony Group gathered at SGC headquarters in Tokyo for the Global Sustainability Conference. I also participated and spoke on three keywords: Purpose, People and Planet.

Our "Purpose," in other words, is why we exist within society. "Kando," the keyword in our Purpose, has the power to bring people together rather than divide them. "People" represents society itself, as well as the 11,000 employees of the Sony Group. "Planet," or our approach to the environment, essentially defines how we interact with society. Participants in the conference shared comments such as, "We place great value on the voices of employees, and are also listening to the views of experts as we explore and implement comfortable work styles," "I am proud of the broad portfolio of partners we have for the Global Social Justice Fund compared with other companies, and hope to increase our collaboration going forward," and "Environmental activities require a long-term perspective, so while it is difficult to demonstrate immediate results, we will continue to thoroughly communicate our progress."

This experience brought home to me again the vital role our global sustainability team plays in how Sony engages with society.

With the heads of sustainability

Global Communications Meeting
Moving into this month, I was pleased to also have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the heads of Corporate Communications from across the Group. Corporate Communications is another key area that defines how we as a company interact with society. This global conference was also held at SGC headquarters, and at the luncheon I was able to engage in open exchange with the team members about my expectations and questions in relation to each business.

Since the participants were mainly the heads of Corporate Communications from our entertainment businesses, I spoke on the importance of these businesses, and the significance of communicating the potential of entertainment externally. The theme of our 5th Mid-Range Plan, which begins next fiscal year, is "Beyond the boundaries: Maximize synergies across the Group." In light of this direction, I also shared my expectations for synergies between our businesses in terms of content IP.

Participants shared comments such as, "Group synergies are one of Sony's unique strengths that differentiates us from other companies,'' and "I feel that we are also achieving greater collaboration across the Group in terms of our corporate communications activities.''

Luncheon with the heads of Corporate Communications from each business
Together with the Corporate Communications team

■ 10 Years Since My Return to Sony

In this way, Sony is engaging with society. And within that interaction, we have many direct and indirect stakeholders.

This month marks exactly ten years since I returned to Sony from So-net (now Sony Network Communications) together with Totoki-san, on December 1, 2013. After serving as CSO (Chief Strategy Officer) for four months and then CFO for four years, I have been CEO of Sony since April 2018. Naturally, in these ten years I have engaged extensively with these stakeholders, from our customers to you our employees, and our shareholders.

An interview with our internal communications team following my appointment as CSO in December 2013	The New Business Creation Department was established directly under then CEO Hirai-san in April 2014. Totoki-san (left), here with Hirai-san (right), was appointed to head this new department

My time as CFO
Looking back, particularly during my years as CFO, there were many times we had to implement measures that paced a great burden on our stakeholders. These included the reform of our business structure including the headquarters, our withdrawal from the PC business, as well as the goodwill impairment in the mobile phone business and subsequent elimination of our dividend in 2014, our public offering in 2015, and the sale of our battery business in 2016.

It was around this time that I began to use the expression, "From internal negotiation to external accountability." Since 2014, we have also been holding briefings to explain the status of each individual business.

Attending a press conference in September 2014 with Hirai-san, where we announced a goodwill impairment in the mobile phone business, significant downward revision of our earnings forecast, and the first elimination of our dividend since Sony's listing

At the induction ceremony for new employees in April 2014, I stated that we in the management team were responsible for ensuring that Sony, a place that has provided us with many opportunities to challenge ourselves, could be passed on to future generations, even stronger than before. This was a message not only to our new recruits, but also to the management team, including myself.

At the new employee induction ceremony in April 2014. In the left picture is then President and CEO Hirai-san delivering a speech to new employees

Following my appointment as CEO, I have strived to create an even better Sony by focusing on entertainment and accelerating our shift to creation with "Kando" as a keyword, starting with the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing we announced in May 2018.

May 2018 with the management team at the time

Our Purpose to Deliver Kando
These ten years have passed by in an instant, but what I have sensed throughout this time is that the Sony Group is supported by all of you - our exceptionally talented employees. And I am proud to stand alongside a team of such good-hearted people. I introduced Sony's Purpose in January 2019 with the intention of setting out a shared direction that we could move together towards as one.

On April 2, 2018, I wrote my first blog following my appointment as CEO, titled "Sony and the Planet Earth."　This blog was my first interaction as CEO with you, as Sony employees our valued stakeholders, so I thought deeply about what to write. The conclusion I reached was that when considering Sony's approach to our stakeholders, and society as a whole, ultimately our perspective should be "the Planet Earth."

We are dedicated to implementing initiatives to address the environment, and areas such as social justice, DE&I and accessibility. In 2010, Sony formulated the "Road to Zero" long-term environmental plan, through which we aim to reduce our net environmental impact, including climate change, to zero. I myself was still at So-net at the time, but I think we can be extremely proud of the decision that was taken to become one of the first Japanese companies to adopt such an environmental plan, and of the progress we have made since then.

As a company, let's continue to engage openly with society and all our stakeholders.

With the Outside Directors who represent our shareholders' interests, and management from each of our businesses

As always, I look forward to receiving your thoughts and feedback.