Former Sony chairman dies at 81

Norio Ohga, the former president of Sony and is credited with creating the compact disc, died Saturday at the age of 81.
Ohga died of multiple organ failure in Tokyo, Japan, reported BBC News.
According to BBC News, Sony recruited Ohga in 1953 when he was still at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and hoping to pursue a career as an opera singer.
He rose in the ranks and in the 1970s he became the company's president, increasing the company's growth in movies, music, and video games, reported CNN.
Ohga always saw a potential for the compact disc and drove the company to introduce the format. Ohga used his training as a musician to push for the 12 cm disc because it could fit the entirety of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony without interruption.
In 1989, he oversaw the $3.4billion purchase of Hollywood studios Columbia Pictures, reported BBC News.
BBC News reported that Ohga stepped down from the president position in 1995 but continued to serve as chairman and representative director until 2000.