Nobuyuki Idei

Nobuyuki Idei (出井 伸之, Idei Nobuyuki; 22 November 1937 – 2 June 2022) was a Japanese businessman. He was chairman and group chief executive officer of Sony Corporation until 7 March 2005. He was a director of General Motors, Baidu, Yoshimoto Kogyo and Nestlé.

Early life Idei was born in Tokyo on 22 November 1937. His father was a professor of economics at Waseda University, a private university in Tokyo.

Career Idei joined Sony Corporation when he graduated from Waseda University. He started as a trainee working with the co-founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka and rose through the ranks as a marketing specialist. He left Sony and enrolled in a PhD program at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, but he did not obtain the degree. Sony re-hired him and he was moved to Europe to manage Sony's businesses in the continent.

On 5 February 2015, Idei retired from Accenture's board of directors.

Personal life Idei was married and had a daughter. He died on 2 June 2022 from liver failure. He was aged 84.