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Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki will become Sony CEO from April. Photo: Bloomberg

Sony has tapped its longtime chief financial officer as its next CEO as the Japanese conglomerate restructures its leadership, putting new heads in a number of key divisions.

The company is in the midst of an overhaul that it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the $3 trillion entertainment industry.

Mr. Totoki will take up his new position from April. The appointment is considered to have been carefully prepared as in recent years, he has held many senior positions such as CEO and CFO.

Mr. Yoshida, who has been Sony CEO since 2018, remains chairman.

Sony shares have risen more than 22% over the past 12 months and were up about 3.4% on the day the company announced the CEO change.

Analyst Atul Goyal said Mr. Totoki has been a confidant of Mr. Yoshida for more than two decades and played an important role in Sony's recovery and deeper penetration into the entertainment sector.

However, finding a replacement for Mr. Totoki is also a challenge.

Under CEO Yoshida, Sony has spent more than $10 billion over the past six years to build a huge portfolio of games, movies and music , contributing 60% of annual revenue.

With Mr. Totoki's promotion, Sony appointed its first female CFO – Lin Tao, while Shinji Sashida became Director of the Imaging and Sensor Division.

Hidaeki Nishino was named to head the Game division, which includes PlayStation. Hermen Hulst runs the game studio division.

(According to FT)