According to a report on Bloomberg, Sony is looking at taking the job of company president away from current CEO Sir Howard Stringer, with one of the possible candidates for that role being PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai.
While Stringer, who took the job as president in 2009 (having been with Sony since 1997) will retain his roles as CEO and chariman, it's believed installing fresh blood as his "deputy" will both make Stringer's job easier (by lightening the load) and give whoever's appointed a chance to show if they've got the right stuff for the top job when Stringer eventually moves on.
Two men have been named by Bloomberg as top candidates for the presidency: Kazuo Hirai and Hiroshi Yoshioka. Hirai, as boss of Sony's Networked Products & Service division, is well-known to gamers are being the head of the company's PlayStation unit. Yoshioka, meanwhile, is in charge of Sony's TVs and cameras.
UPDATE - A Sony Computer Entertainment representative tells Kotaku the Bloomberg report is "pure speculation".
Sony Said to Seek President as Possible Successor to Stringer [Bloomberg]