It's official: Kaz Hirai has been named President and CEO of Sony Corp. effective April 1. He was previously named Chairman back in June 2011. Howard Stringer, currently Chairman, CEO and President, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors in June, 2012, Sony said in a statement.

“As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position," Kaz said. "I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees.

"The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses - primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains."

He added: "The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways."

Sony denied a report from Japan last month confirming his promotion.