NEW YORK, NY - January 6, 2000 -- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has conferred the honor of Knighthood on Sir Howard Stringer in the New Year Honours list released by Buckingham Palace on December 31, 1999.

In the Diplomatic and Oversees list Sir Howard Stringer was given the title Knight Bachelor, one of the most ancient and senior ranks of Knighthood. Formal investiture by The Queen at Buckingham Palace will follow at a future date. All of those named to this year's honours list were cited for achievements that have left some mark on the 20th century or will leave a mark on the 21st, by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

As Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), Howard Stringer has overall responsibility for Sony's entertainment businesses, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., one of the largest music companies in the world; and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of Columbia Pictures and Columbia Tri-Star Television; as well as the company's U.S.-based hardware and manufacturing business, Sony Electronics Inc.; SCA's on-line game business, Sony Online Entertainment; and the company's retail and location based businesses, Sony Development and Metreon. He reports to Nobuyuki Idei, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation, and was named to the company's Board of Directors in June 1999. He is also a member of the board of Sony Europe.

Prior to joining Sony he had been Chairman and CEO of TELE-TV from February 1995 to April 1997. Before that he had a distinguished 30-year career as a journalist, producer and senior executive at CBS Inc.

Sir Howard was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1942 and educated at Oxford University. He moved to the United States in 1965 and became a U.S. citizen in 1985. He continues to maintain a residence in England and his status as a British subject. He and his wife Dr. Jennifer A.K. Patterson (Lady Stringer), who practices dermatology in New York City, have two children, David Ridley and Harriet Kinmond.