Masahiro Okafuji: Down At The Trenches

While many top executives rely on their subordinates to get all the information they need some like to do it a bit differently. Take the case of Masahiro Okafuji he is the CEO and president of Japanese trading giant Itochu Corp.

Okafuji is known as a down-to-earth leader who doesn’t mind allocating a portion of his time at all levels of the company to understand what needs to be achieved. This is his mantra “genbushugi” in action. It is a Japanese term meaning “getting down on the trenches”. Okafuji believes that one learns more from one hour of seeing a market in action than from 100 hours of studying about it. That’s why he believes one should go to a department store or retail shop and see for yourself what products people are lining up to buy, see what’s selling and how it’s selling and at what price. Look at the service, presentation, at the marketing. Executives according to him need this understanding as much as anyone. Okafuji is also keen in training his staff so they are experts in their fields.

Okafuji was born in 1949 and graduated from Tokyo University. He then went to work for Itochu Corp. in 1974. With the company having many corporations Okafuji climbed the corporate ranks mainly in the textile operations. He became an executive officer in 2002.

He was promoted in 2004 to president of the company’s textile division and managing director of Itochu Corp. In 2006 he was promoted to senior managing director. Okafuji contributed to the buildup of the business’s brand and also played a role in the company’s adaptation to the changing consumer market.

After one more promotion Okafuji was appointed CEO and president of Itochu Corp on April 1, 2010. He immediately went into acquisition mode buying large companies in Europe and as also purchased the Dole fresh produce business and also bought IT firms.  As a trading company Itochu operates diverse businesses and somehow it is all working. Itochu while not popularly known is one of the largest companies in the world and the man who keeps it humming is none other than Okafuji.