Sony ex-CEO Nobuyuki Idei Passes Away at 84

Nobuyuki Idei, who led Sony from 1998 to 2005, and fueled the company's growth in the digital and entertainment sectors, passed away at the age of 84, the company announced Tuesday. 

Idei's cause of death is a liver failure on June 2 in Tokyo, Sony Group Corp said in a press release. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said he and the company thank Idei's vision for preparing Sony for the internet era.

During his seven years as CEO since 1998, Mr. Idei has contributed greatly to Sony's growth as a global company. In particular, the foresight and foresight with which he predicted the impact of the internet and was actively involved in digitization at Sony still amazes me to this day,” he said.

Tokyo-based Sony is one of the leading Japanese brands that brought the Walkman portable music player to the world. But it had humble beginnings in the 1940s when the country was rebuilding from the ashes of World War 2.

After leaving Sony, Idei founded the consulting firm Quantum Leaps Corp. which focuses on reshaping the business and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Idei survived with his wife and daughter, according to Sony. A private funeral has been held with his family and a corporate memorial event in his honor is scheduled for a later date, he said.