A BARRY boy has made it to the very top of the pile in big business by becoming the overall head of Sony.

Sir Howard Stringer assumed the position of chairman, group CEO and representative corporate executive officer, Sony Corporation. He will run Sony's overall group business operations on a global basis. In this new position, the 63-year-old will also continue in his role as the head of the Entertainment Business Group and head of Sony Corporation of America.

Between 1976 and 1981, he worked as an award-winning documentary maker at television channel CBS.

His career went from strength to strength when he joined Sony in 1997 and was then knighted in 1999.