As analysts question whether Sony's revamp goes far enough, Chubachi embarked on a charm offensive this week with a series of meetings with the press, insisting that the Japanese electronics icon will revive itself.
Sony was aiming for innovation, as it did with the Walkman portable audio player in the 1970s, he said.
"Of course, we are always aiming to create dream products. The very DNA and tradition of Sony have been to create innovative products," Chubachi said.
"I have been trying to create an environment in which new ideas would be created. I am not pessimistic. I am convinced that, tomorrow, better and new ideas will be created," he said.
Sony's restructuring plan announcement last week drew criticism from many analysts who said that it was not a radical enough in the face of a loss of 10 billion yen ($90 million) expected in the financial year to March 2006.
Sony's British-born chief executive Howard Stringer announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs, dispose of a swathe of assets, axe 11 of its 65 manufacturing plants and one-fifth of its product line.
But investors gave a cool response, sending Sony shares down 3.05 percent to 3,820 on Monday. The shares reversed some of the losses on Tuesday, rebounding 1.31 percent to 3,870 yen.
Chubachi said that the negative market response might have been due to poor presentation.
"If the market is only reacting the figures and numbers, maybe the way we presented the reform plan was not effective. If that's the case, it is unfortunate," he said.
"We created this plan after thorough discussions with many people with various background, like Howard [Stringer], who is not a Japanese and has no experience in the electronics business," Chubachi said.
"In the end I believe we came to a brilliant conclusion. I am very upbeat about this restructuring plan," he said.
Under the new reform plan Sony will streamline 15 unprofitable product categories. The company has not yet announced which products will be affected.
Sony will also look at the profitability, growth potential and synergy possibilities of its business categories to decide which operations to stop, downsize or to form alliances in with other firms, Chubachi said.
There has been speculation that Sony might pull out of cathode ray tube televisions as flat-screen TVs grow in popularity but Chubachi noted that they remained popular in Asia and Latin America.
He admitted that Sony's previous management plans tended to focus on cutting cost, rather than growth measures, ultimately pushing the company to forecast its first loss in 11 years.
In 2003 Sony had already announced 20,000 job cuts over three years as part of a "Transformation 60" plan to trim costs and put its media, entertainment and electronics units on the same path ahead of its 60th anniversary in 2006.
© 2005 Agence France-Presse
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