Mr. Schaaff joins Sony from Apple Computer, where he held various positions including VP of Interactive Media. His many contributions at Apple included managing the development and maintenance of Apple's QuickTime platform. Prior to working at Apple, Mr. Schaaff worked on the development of the Synclavier music synthesizer at New England Digital.
"Software is obviously a critical element in creating champion Sony products, and in increasing the value of Sony devices and services by ensuring interoperability," said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation. "Tim's expertise is a vital addition to the Sony team, and he will be responsible for developing and deploying a unified, intuitive Sony 'look and feel' to user interfaces and functionality across our entire product line."
"This is a very exciting time to work for Sony," said Mr. Schaaff. "Under the new management's initiative Sony is transforming itself by strengthening horizontal coordination and collaboration, including software development. I look forward to making contributions to increase the value of Sony's products."
"Having a consistent and scaleable software platform for our devices and services is important in today's world," said Mr. Kimura. "Tim's goal is to unify previously dispersed functions into a single organization that provides important platform support for all of Sony."
Mr. Schaaff will be based in San Jose and will have global responsibility for a newly created team that will include technologists and business planners who will work with Sony's business units, design centers, product planning and engineering, as well as corporate centers for standards, intellectual property, licensing and business development.
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