Norio Ohga
| Norio Ohga | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 29, 1930 Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Died | April 23, 2011 (aged 81) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Education |
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Berlin University of the Arts |
| Occupation | Businessperson, Singer (Baritone), Conductor |
| Organization |
Sony Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra |
| Known for | Sony |
| Spouse(s) | Midori Matsubara |
Norio Ohga (大賀典雄 Ōga Norio?), otherwise spelled Norio Oga (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011), was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format.
Ohga was born in Numazu, Shizuoka. When he was a child, he suffered tuberculosis that kept him in bed for a long time during which an acquaintance taught him physics and music. As a young man, Ohga aspired to be a professional opera singer, and went on to read at the prestigious Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, graduating in 1953. It was a highly critical letter written to the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo KK (also known as Totsuko and later as Sony), complaining about their tape recorder’s many failings that got him noticed by Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita and other Totsuko executives. Because of his insight into music and technology, the company hired him as a part-time consultant. He went on to study music in Munich and Berlin, where he formed a friendship with the conductor Herbert von Karajan. The young man's knowledge of sound and electrical engineering continued to be an asset to the company, and rising to become an executive director of Sony in 1964 at the age of 34 and the president of CBS/Sony Records Inc. (currently Sony Music Entertainment Japan) in 1970, by the age of 40 - this was unprecedented in the history of the Japanese company.
He was made the president of Sony in 1982, and the CEO of Sony in 1989. That same year, he purchased Columbia Pictures Entertainment (currently Sony Pictures Entertainment) from the Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion. A year earlier, Sony acquired the CBS Records Group (currently Sony Music Entertainment) from Columbia Broadcasting System. Ohga also played a key role in establishing Sony Computer Entertainment (currently Sony Interactive Entertainment) in 1993. He supported Ken Kutaragi to develop the PlayStation as a Sony-owned console.
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