Sony's next chief executive officer said Tuesday he wants to make the company "cool again."

Howard Stringer, whose succession in June was announced Monday, said in an interview it was "a surprise but great moment" when Nobuyuki Idei, Sony's current CEO, offered him the job during a phone call "between parties" at the Academy Awards last month in Hollywood. Stringer is currently the company's vice executive chairman in charge of entertainment business and head of its U.S. unit.

Stringer said: "Sony is still one of the No. 1 brands in the U.S. and not in a crisis. I want to excite the great company once again as I did in the entertainment world.