Howard Stringer

Beginning as an associate producer, producer and director of CBS news programming, Stringer came into his own with his handling of "CBS Reports" and his administration of the "CBS Evening News" during the years shortly after Dan Rather took over the anchor reins from Walter Cronkite. He oversaw the production of such critically acclaimed broadcasts as "Teddy" (1979), "Miami: The Trial That Sparked the Riot" (1980), "The Defense of the United States" (1981) and "The Beirut Bombing" (1983). His series have included "West 57th," "48 Hours" (whose title was adapted from his special on crack addiction) and "CBS This Morning." Stringer was president of the CBS/Broadcast Group from 1988 to 1995. His greatest coups were successfully luring David Letterman from NBC to CBS in 1993 and, less publicized, bringing the third- ranked network out of the ratings cellar and making it number one. Stringer left CBS to become chairman and CEO of Tele-TV, a company formed in 1994 through a joint venture among NYNEX, Pacific Telesis and Bell Atlantic, to provide home video delivery via telephone lines. After a brief tenure, however, Stringer found himself briefly out of work as the company ceased operations in early 1997. By April, however, he had been appointed as president of Sony Corporation of America with responsibilities for the company's retail, online and radio operations as well as overall strategic planning. One year later, Stringer was named to the newly created position of chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), given the responsibility for overall strategic planning and business coordination in the USA.