New Country Head of Sony Germany: Tadato Kimura succeeds John Anderson
Change in the leadership of Sony Germany as of 1 April 2024 // John Anderson has decided to move on and hands over to Tadato Kimura // Steffen Feuerpeil becomes new Marketing Head
John Anderson will leave Sony at the end of March 2024 after 33 years at his own request to pursue new professional challenges. With effect from 1 April 2024, Tadato Kimura, previously Deputy Country Head, will take over as the new Country Head of Sony Germany.
John Anderson's extensive career at Sony Europe spans several leadership positions in which he has contributed significantly to the company's success in European markets. Prior to his position as Country Head of Sony Germany, he was responsible for the management of Sony in the UK and Ireland. Prior to that, he was Vice President Home Entertainment & Sound and Vice President Customer Services Europe at the European headquarters, where he led a turnaround and transformation in the business, and Country Head of Sony Austria.
“I have had an amazing career with Sony over the last 33 years and it is a privilege to have been associated with this outstanding brand for so long. At the same time I recognise – with a clear strategy for the future, the business performing well and a new team in place – that now is a good time to pass the leadership baton over to the next generation. I wish the company the very best for the future”, said John Anderson, Country Head of Sony Germany.
"Over the past five years, John Anderson has played a crucial role in driving strong profit growth in the German market and building a high performing team," said Masashi Takiguchi, President Sony Europe B.V. "We are deeply grateful for his unwavering commitment, strategic vision and tireless dedication to Sony Europe and wish him every success and all the best for his future career."
Tadato Kimura has been Deputy Country Head of Sony Germany since September 2023 and will take over the position of Country Head from 1 April 2024. His career at Sony spans 25 years, during which he has held various management positions in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Sony Germany, his roles included Head of Marketing at Sony China, Vice President & Head of Region APAC and Vice President & Head of Premium Category Business Management at Sony Mobile Communications as well as Senior General Manager of Sony India.
With the change in the management of Sony Germany, Steffen Feuerpeil, previously Director of Sales Strategy and Mobile Business, will take over the position of Marketing Head. He succeeds Naoki Sugaya, who will return to the company's headquarters in Tokyo after two years in this role.
From 1 April 2024, the senior management of Sony Germany will be structured as follows and will report directly to the new Country Head Tadato Kimura:
- Steffen Feuerpeil, Marketing Head, will also retain responsibility for mobile operator sales. He has been with Sony since 2005 and has held positions at country level in sales and marketing. At the company headquarters in Tokyo, he worked in the strategy department and as Director of Global Analytics in San Francisco. He then worked as Head of Etail, Hypers & B2B at Sony Germany until 2017 and subsequently as Head of Regional Sales until 2019. After a year of mid-career Master's studies at Harvard University/USA, Steffen Feuerpeil took over as Head of Mobile Business at Sony Germany in 2020.
- Ulf Schreurs, Director of Multi-Channel Retail, responsible for MSH, buying groups and regional field sales, began his career at Sony in 2007. After working as Senior Product Manager TV, he became Head of Digital Imaging Business at Sony Germany in 2014. From 2019 onwards, Ulf Schreurs was responsible for managing the entire regional sales organisation as Head of Region Sales.
- Frederik Lange, Director of Etail, Photo Retail and B2B, started his career at Sony in 2004 at the company's headquarters in Weybridge/UK. After several years of logistics and marketing experience at the pan-European headquarters, he took over responsibility for the Digital Imaging division for the British and Irish markets as Category Head in 2016. Three years later, Fre-derik Lange moved to the Sales division as Head of Photo Specialists Channel. In 2020, he moved to Sony Germany as Head of Digital Imaging Business.
