Sony to groom business leaders in Singapore

TALENT MANAGEMENT       TRENDS       LEADERSHIP

Singapore – Sony plans to groom a new batch of business leaders with the opening of its university in Singapore.

The campus marks the first university Sony has opened outside Japan, with its first intake to begin sometime in March.

The Japanese electronics giant will invest approximately S$4.5 million over the next three years in the facility to cultivate ‘forward thinkers’ for the market.

These new executives will support company plans to expand throughout the Asia acific, Middle East and Africa region as well as emerging markets such as China, Narihiko Uemura, managing director of Sony Electronics Asia Pacific and Sony Electronics (Singapore), said.

When asked if it was a risk to develop leaders and then have them leave the organisation,

Hew Evans, regional director for HR at Sony Electronics APAC, said it is better to invest in someone and have them go then to not invest in employees and have them stay.

“Like all investments, there may be a pay off of not,” Evans said. “We’re trying to find and develop people who can cope with a business that’s becoming more complex. If we don’t invest in people’s ability to manage that, then there’s a huge risk the business will not reach its full potential.”

Sony University plans to offer around 10 educational programmes each year, with up to 100 candidates given a chance to participate in the curriculum. Participants will consist of mid- to senior-level executives.

Each curriculum will range from shorter three to four month stints to longer ones, which are around six to eight month development programmes.

However, not all lessons will be taught in the traditional classroom format. Sony plans to host discussions with corporate leaders from various companies, as well as 'undercover boss'- type assignments, where managers will have a chance to observe the company's operations on the ground.

Around 1,000 executives have attended courses at the Japanese campus, which was established in 2000, with many having gone on to become sales and business unit heads with the corporation, Tsugie Miyashita, Sony Corp's senior vice-president, announced at the launch.

Currently, Sony has dispatched 200 executives who are working on global assignments outside Japan.

Sony University was given the full support of the government to help attract and retain foreign and local talent to work and live on Singapore shores, according to Tan Choon Shian, Tan Choon Shian, deputy managing director at the Economic Development Board.

Sony will join the list of large multinational corporations – such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble – which have set up talent development bases here, he added.

Unilever had announced its first global leadership centre outside London in Singapore bac in 2010. In the same year, Procter & Gamble also set up an Asia Leadership Development Centre here.

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