Masaki Sakuyama: Mitsubishi Electric President & CEO

Masaki Sakuyama was born in 1952 in Hyogo Prefecture. In 1977 he joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation as an engineer in the company’s Kobe Works. Masaki rose through the ranks and in 2008 was named Executive Officer and Group President of Energy & Industrial Systems Group of Mitsubishi Electric. 

In 2010, he became Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Strategic Planning Division. Masaki’s star was clearly on the rise when in 2012, he was appointed Executive Vice President and Group President of Semiconductor & Device Group. On April 1, 2014, he became the President and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric. 

The company that Masaki leads is one of the largest publicly trade firms in the world. It generates annual sales in excess of $40 billion and has 124,305 employees. It was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. 

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation manufactures and sells electrical and electronic products and systems all over the world. The Energy and Electric Systems segment offers turbine generators, nuclear power plant and power electronic equipments among others. 

The company’s Industrial Automation Systems segment offers programmable logic and computerized numerical controllers, inverters, servomotors, human-machine interface, hoists, magnetic switches among others. 

Its Information and Communication Systems segment provides wireless and wired communication systems, surveillance camera, satellite communication and radar equipment, antennas, missile and fire control systems, broadcasting and information systems equipment, data transmission devices, network security systems and more. 

The firm’s Electronic Devices segment offers power modules, high-frequency devices, and optical and LCD devices. Its Home Appliances segment provides LCD televisions, air conditioners, air-to-water heat pump boilers, refrigerators, electric fans, ventilators, photovoltaic power generation and hot water supply systems, LED and fluorescent among other products.

Having risen through the ranks Masaki knows a lot about the company from first hand experience. This will surely come in handy when making decisions about the company’s future and how capable the company would be in executing plans given his bottom to top experience. 

Yasuyoshi Karasawa: MS&AD Insurance President & CEO

Rising through the ranks, Yasuyoshi Karasawa leads a multibillion company which has undergone a number of mergers. To be able to reach the top post of a merged company demonstrates  his top-level leadership and managerial capabilities. 

Yasuyoshi Karasawa joined The Sumitomo Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Ltd in April 1975. He became Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning Department of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd (“MSI”) in April 2004. The following year in June 2005 he was  Director, Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning at MSI. 

In April 2006, Yasuyoshi was Director, Managing Executive Officer at MSI. He was Director, Senior Executive Officer of MSI and Director of what is now MS&AD Insurance, in April 2008.  Yasuyoshi became Director, Senior Executive Officer of MS&AD Insurance in April 2009. 

In April 2010 he was appointed President and CEO of MSI (a position he still holds) and Director, Executive Officer of MS&AD Insurance. Then on June 2014, Yasuyoshi became the President, Director and CEO of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. 

He has been focused and involved in the medium-term management plans of the group such as the “New Frontier 2013” launched in 2010 which among other things dealt with achieving sustainable growth through improvement in quality and pursuing group synergies that capitalize on the collective strength of the Group. in 2014 the Group began implementing  a new medium term management plan called “Next Challenge 2017”, with the objective of achieving further growth based on the sound foundation that they had built to date. 

Yasuyoshi has managed to rise and lead a company that has been a product of a number of mergers. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings is the insurance holding company of the new Group formed in April 2010 through the merger of Aioi Insurance Co., Ltd, Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., Ltd, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group.

MS&AD has around 37,000 employees and generates sales in excess of $44 billion dollars and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. 

Masaaki Tsuya-San: Bridgestone Chairman & CEO

Masaaki Tsuya-San earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in Japan and holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Chicago.

After having assumed various positions of increasing importance in the company, Masaaki was named Chief Executive Officer of Bridgestone in March 2012. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Among the positions he has held prior to becoming CEO include as Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Human Rights Officer, Chief Risk-Management Officer, Vice President and Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corp. He has been Director of Division of International Relations & Licenses of Bridgestone Corporation Co., Ltd., since July 2004. Masaaki served as Director of Internal Auditing Office, Office of Group Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Bridgestone Corp.

Bridgestone Corporation is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and generates annual sales of more than $34 billion. It has approximately 144,632 employees.  The firm engages in the manufacture and sales of tires and rubber products. Its businesses are carried out through the Tires and Diversified Products segments. The company was founded by Shojiro Ishibashi on March 1, 1931. 

Koji Nagai: Nomura Holdings Group CEO

Koji Nagai was born circa 1953. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Chuo University in 1981, he joined Nomura. Koji is a company man having spent his entire career at Nomura. 

During his career he built a strong reputation in sales both in the retail and institutional divisions. Koji rose through the ranks and eventually reached the position of COO and Deputy President of Nomura Securities, the domestic securities trading and investment banking unit of Nomura Holdings. 

Koji was promoted to President of Nomura Securities in April 2012, as part of a restructuring of Nomura Holdings with the purpose of reducing the CEO’s domestic role. He was still getting used to and familiarizing  himself with his new position when he was appointed Group CEO of Nomura Holdings in August 2012. His predecessor was forced to resign due to an insider’s trading scandal which was significant enough to rattle the Japanese financial industry. 

Koji’s appointment was a part of a huge shake up and change in direction within the Nomura leadership. 

Kosei Shindo: NSSMC President

Kosei Shindo is the President and Representative Director of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC). Kosei has served in this position since April 1, 2014. Prior to that he was an Executive Vice President of NSSMC from October 2012 to April 1, 2014. Kosei served as General Manager of Corporate Planning Division of Nippon Steel Corp. He served as Statutory Auditor of Nippon Coke & Engineering Company Limited (also known as Mitsui Mining Co. Ltd.).

MSSMC was born out of a merger and before its merger, Kosei had long experience in general affairs and management planning at Nippon Steel. He was central in forging a three-way partnership with Sumitomo Metal and Kobe Steel that started in 2001. Kosei was given the responsibility with integrating steelmaking operations of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal after the merger.

Kosei now leads one of the largest  companies in the world. NSSMC was formed in October 2012 by the merger of Nippon Steel Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.It is a world leading integrated steel producer. NSSMC is a holding company for five businesses: steel making, engineering, chemicals, new materials and system solutions. 

NSSMC produces a broad array of value-added steel products in over 15 countries as well as at 16 steelworks in Japan. The conglomerate emphasizes three business fields as key strategic areas: high-grade steel products for automobiles, resources and energy, and civil engineering, construction, and railways. MSSMC conducts research and development at three major research centers, and six laboratories at steelworks, all in Japan. It employs approximately 83,000 people and posted ¥5,516,180 million in net sales and ¥361,097  million in ordinary profit with is crude steel production of 48.16 million tons on a consolidated basis for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. 

In line with its corporate philosophy, NSSMC is working at building up a dynamic NSSMC Group. The conglomerate that Kosei leads is seeking to ensure management efficiency, soundness and transparency, and enhance its corporate governance with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable improvement in corporate value and being trusted by society. 

Masahiro Okafuji: Itochu President & CEO

Masahiro Okafuji was born in 1949. He followed the path of most Japanese executive working for one company their entire career which ultimately led him to the top post.  In 1974 he joined Itochu Corporation, a Japanese trading company. This was right after he graduated from Tokyo University. 

Masahiro rose through the ranks, primarily in Itochu’s textile operations. In 2002, he became an executive officer. In 2004, he moved up the corporate ladder again, becoming president of Itochu’s textile division and managing director of Itochu Corp. 

In 2006, Masahiro was appointed senior managing director. He helped to establish the businesses brand and helped the company adapt to the dynamic consumer market. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2009, a position he held until April 1, 2010, when he was promoted to CEO and president of Itochu Corporation. He was 60 when appointed to the top executive position. 

Itochu is a major trading company in Japan and the world for that matter. It doesn’t just buy and sell products it also buys and sells companies depending on what Itochu feels meets their objectives. Masahiro, 2011 devised a plan to invest up to $10 billion in 2 years. He headed the purchase of British tire fitter Kwik Fit in 2011 for £637 million. Masahiro promised that it wasn’t just a quick buying and selling of the company having committed to invest in the business to help it expand and grow. 

In 2012, Masahiro brought forth a medium-term management plan called Brand-new Deal. Under his leadership Itochu reached a record income of 300.5 billion yen. 

China is one country he is looking for much growth and profit. Masahiro has also continued initiatives to reduce the company’s reliance on natural resource businesses. This is being achieved by investing in a wider range of companies. As stated by Masahiro, until around 2005, Itochu has the same business drivers — natural resources, energy and machinery. Then the company rebalanced its portfolio shifting toward consumer-oriented non-resource businesses.

Koichiro Watanabe: Dai-ichi Life Insurance President

Koichiro Watanabe was born on April 16, 1953. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Tohoku University in March 1976. In April 1976  he joined Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. Rising through the ranks he served as Managing  Executive Officer of Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. and also became Senior Managing Executive Officer.  He became a Direct of Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited in 2001. In April 1, 2010, Koichiro was appoint President of Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited.

The company that Koichiro leads was the oldest mutual insurance company in Japan until a motion to demutualise was passed in 2009 and, on April 1, 2010, was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The firm was founded on September 15, 1902. Dai-ichi Life is the third-largest life insurer by revenue in Japan. It’s just behind Japan Post Insurance and Nippon Life. 

The firm deals in big money, it was announced that Dia-ichi in October 2014, raised $1 billion by issuing US-dollar-denominated subordinated bonds in overseas markets. 

Nobuaki Katoh: Denso President & CEO

Nobuaki Katoh earned a degree in Business and Commerce from Keio University in Tokyo in 1971. He then joined Nippondenso Co., Ltd which is now known as Denso Corporation.

He climbed the corporate ladder and was named director of Air-Conditioning Planning Division in 1996. His main responsibilities included developing business strategies to increase DENSO’s share of the air conditioning market. The strategies Nobuaki implemented worked. The company’s share of the air conditioning market increased, and DENSO maintained the global number one market share for air conditioners. Achievements like this do not go unnoticed by the top brass. 

Nobuaki was appointed director of Corporate Planning Division in 1999. In this capacity, he spearheaded the project to develop the company’s long-term policy and business strategy, utilizing his planning skills to help further globalize Denso’s business. 

He was appointed as one of the company’s executive director in June 2000.  Nobuaki was named president of Denso Europe B.V. In June 2007, he was promoted to senior executive director and returned to Japan. In June 2008 he was appointed president and CEO. 

Takanobu Ito: Honda CEO

Takanobu Ito was born in August 29, 1953 in Tokyo, Japan. He graduated from Kyoto University and joined Honda in 1978 as an R&D Engineer. Takanobu rose through the ranks and held various positions of importance along the way. He has been an executive of Honda R&D since 1998 and was promoted to President and Director of Honda R&D in April 2009. Previously Takanobu had been appointed Senior Managing Director of Honda R&D in June 2001, after Director of the company in June 2000, following the position as Executive Vice President of Honda R&D Americas, Inc. since April 1998.   

By the time he was appointed to the Board in 2000 he was already well known in the automobile industry as “the engineer behind the legendary Honda NSE supercar of the 90s”.  He assumed the top post of CEO, President and Representative Director of Honda in June 2009.

Takanobu became CEO in very challenging times during the financial crisis. The year 2011 wasn’t as good either given the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. There have also been quality issues raised about Honda cars. He has been working hard in making a major transition to keep Honda among the pack leaders in the car industry. 

Masakazu Aoki: Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems President

Masakazu Aoki is the President of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co. Ltd. He also serves as a Board of Director of the said company. In October 2014 he was appointed Vice President, Executive Officer, General Manager of Industrial Products Strategy Division at Hitachi Ltd.

If case you may be confused Hitachi Ltd is the bigger company that is world known. His appointment to the position of Vice President of the main company is an indication of his rise in Hitachi. This is not to say that his current position as President of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems is not very important. In fact this is a company which was established in April 2002 with a capital stock of 10 billion yen.

As stated by Aoki, the company integrates functions for maintenance, service, engineering, marketing, research & development, design, and manufacturing, after being spun off from Hitachi, Ltd.  The company is engaged in a wide variety of businesses, including the motor business, which is over 100 years old, along with social/daily life infrastructure and other businesses involved in the industrial electrical equipment, such as factory automation/control systems, wind/water systems, pneumatic systems, power distribution, environmental systems, and labor-savings systems.  By integrating the company’s complete engineering ability, utilizing its technological capabilities accumulated over a long period of time, and employing know-how based on its history and business results, the company provides high value-added products and systems solutions that promptly reflect customer needs.

Aoki further stated that the company is making efforts toward state-of-the-art research & development and commercialization in areas such as IT and telecommunications, and is incorporating technologies and expertise gained in this area into system businesses concerning monitoring and management/positioning information. The company is also actively promoting business development in overseas markets, such as in China, other Asian countries, Europe, and the U.S.

Furthermore, as stated by Aoki the company’s business concept is embodied in the phrase “Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, contributing to the environmental protection and energy conservation”. 

Aoki is one business executive on the rise, while he is already contributing significantly given his current position he may one day head Hitachi Ltd and make even bigger contributions.

Ken Kobayashi: Mitsubishi President & CEO

Ken Kobayashi joined Mitsubishi Corporation in July 1971 in the Ship Sales Department in Tokyo. In July 1980 he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation London Branch.  Ken served starting on December 1985 at Ship & Rolling Stock Department of Mitsubishi Corporation in Tokyo. He became General Manager of Ship & Industrial Project Department in 1998 and later served as General Manager of Mitsubishi Singapore Branch starting April 2001.

Ken became Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Singapore Branch in April 2003.  He was appointed Senior Vice President, Division COO for the Plant Project Division on June 2004. Ken continued his rise through senior ranks and by April 2007 was Executive Vice President, Group CEO of the Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group.  In June of the same year he became Member of the Board of the Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group.

After more promotions Ken was finally appointed as Member of the Board, President, and CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Mitsubishi Corporation has seven Business Groups which develops operations in the diverse field of Global Environmental & Infrastructure; Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development; Energy; Metals; Machinery; Chemicals; and Living Essentials. In addition to these Business Groups, MC has also recently established its Business Service Group. Through these business groups and more than 600 subsidiaries and affiliates, MC serves customers around the world in virtually every industry. 

Hiroo Unoura: NTT President & CEO

Hiroo Unoura was born on January 13, 1949.  He obtained a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo in 1973. Hiroo joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT)  also in 1973. He has held various posts in different aspects of the company including traffic operation management, sales promotion, and human resource management including labor relations, and corporate strategy planning and implementation.

In 2002 Hiroo became Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy Department as well as becoming Member of the Board. In 2008 he was appointed Senior Vice President, Head of New Business Promotion Office and President of NTT Investment Partners.

Hiroo was a significant player in planning and promoting NTT Group’s Medium-Term Management Strategy, focusing on FTTH and mobile broadband service development and NGN (Next Generation Network) vision released in 2004, accelerating transformation from traditional network career business to global-IP-based solution company as a “Service Creation Business Group” released in 2008, and executing acquisitions of Dimension Data plc. in 2010 and Centerstance Inc., in 2012.

Hiroo was promoted to President and CEO in June 2012. He has been taking the initiative in developing a new vision, “Towards the Next Stage” released in 2012, introducing a concept of a “Value Partner” for supporting customers’ transformation through offering global cloud services.

NTT is one of the largest companies in the world but just like any company it has it vulnerabilities. This comes primarily from the domestic front due to the fact that the Japanese telecommunications market is fast approaching the point of complete saturation. Thus NTT will be stuck in a market which will eventually have no growth. It had to rethink its approach in order to survive and prosper.

It is not the only Japanese company that has realized this and competitors like Softbank have already acquired a major U.S. mobile phone carrier, eAccess and also announced plans to take over Sprint Nextel by purchasing a 70 percent stake.

Given the huge resource at Hiroo’s disposal he can make many things happen and hopefully they are the right ones.  

Yasuhiro Sato: Mizuho Financial Group CEO

Yasuhiro Sato was born in April 1952 and earned a degree in economics from Tokyo University in 1976. After graduating, Yasuhiro began his career at the Industrial Bank of Japan. He continued working for the company which eventually combined with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd and Fuji Bank Ltd in 2000 to form Mizuho.

Yasuhiro gained international banking experience working in New York in the late 1980s building close ties with global financial institutions. Rising through the ranks he became executive officer of the international banking unit of Mizuho Corporate Bank in March 2003.  Yashiro was appointed Mizuho Corporate Bank’s managing executive officer in April 2004.

He became the CEO of Mizuho Corporate Bank in April 2009. In this capacity he announced plans to enter emerging markets in the ASEAN region.  In May 2011 Yasuhiro became the CEO of Mizuho Financial Group.  As a sign that times were going to be tough he took a 30 percent salary cut for his first three months as CEO.  He also announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs in November.

Making tough decisions, Yasuhiro has been working hard to streamline Mizuho Financial Group and make the most of its huge resources.

                                                                                               

Kuniharu Nakamura: Sumitomo CEO

Kuniharu Nakamura earned a BA in Economics from Osaka University in March 1974.  In April he joined Sumitomo Corporation. Like many Japanese corporate executives he has stayed with the company throughout his career and this loyalty has paid off ultimately landing his the top executive post.

Nakamura became the General Manager of Motor Vehicle Department No. 1 in 1998 and became the general manager of other motor vehicle departments the following years. He also held roles in planning and administration. In April 2005 Nakamura became Executive Officer, General Manager for the Corporate Planning and Coordination Department.  In April 2007 he became the Managing Executive Officer of the same department.

More promotions came along the way. Nakamura became the Senior Managing Executive Officer, General Manager of the Mineral Resources, Energy, Chemical & Electronics Business Unit in April 2009. In June of the same year he became a Representative Director.

Nakamura was Representative Director, Executive Vice President, General Manager of the Mineral Resources, Energy, Chemical & Electronics Business Unit in April 2012. Finally on June of the same year he became the President and CEO of Sumitomo Corporation.

Under his leadership the company has expanded and diversified through strategic partnerships, acquisitions and development of new customer focused services.  In August 2012 Nakamura stated that one of its subsidiaries, Summit Petroleum Ltd., had completed an agreement with Nippon Exploration to exchange interests in two different fields, thereby strengthening the company’s business in the UK North Sea. 

He also announced in November 2012, a joint venture with National Atomic Company had completed the construction of its first factory and would soon be ready to separate rare earth elements from uranium-ore residue. In January 2013 Nakamura announced that the company had created a joint venture with PT Sumitomo Indonesia to create an e-commerce website catering to the Indonesian market.  The site, Sukamart, would provide more than 1,000 items delivered directly to customers within two days. In February 2013 he also reported that the company had begun an expansion of its Philippine Industrial Park.

Given the present environment Nakamura strongly believes in addressing the issue and taking the initiative. 

Yoshio Sato: Sumitomo Life CEO

Yoshio Sato has served among number of positions at Sumitomo Life Insurance Company among the high level positions has been as Senior Vice President of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. He has also served as Managing Director of the firm. Now he holds the highest executive posts in the firm. Sato has been the President since March 30, 2007 and is also the Chief Executive Officer.

The firm Sato heads has been in existence for over a hundred years and is currently one of the largest corporations in the world. Sumitomo Life Insurance Company began as Hinode Life Insurance Co., and was incorporated in May 1907. The firm changed its name on May 1926 to Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., Ltd. following its acquisition by Sumitomo Goshi (joint-stock) Company.

After WWII, in 1948 all assets and liabilities were transferred to Kokumin Life Insurance Co. in line with the Allies’ dismantling of large Japanese conglomerates which included “Sumitomo”. By 1952 the name was changed to Sumitomo Life Insurance Company.

A major overseas venture took place in 2005 when the firm Sato now heads, established PICC Life Insurance Co., Ltd. in China with The People’s Insurance Co. Group of China Limited. Under Sato’s leadership Sumitomo Life established Medicare Life Insurance Co., Ltd. as a life insurance subsidiary in April 2010. Another overseas venture took place in December 2012 with a business alliance formed with Bao Viet Holdings (Vietnam).

Based in Osaka, Japan Sumitomo Life Insurance provides life insurance products mainly in Japan. It offers individual life insurance products, including whole life insurance with term riders, interest-sensitive whole life insurance with benefit riders, whole life insurance, endowment insurance, and other individual life insurance products. This includes medical insurance, cancer insurance, juvenile insurance, and term rider with survival benefits as well as other financial products and services.

Sato heads a company that has around 42,098 employees distributed with 11,228 under administrative and 30,870 under sales. Sumitomo Life has 71 branch offices and 1,516 district offices. The firm’s total assets as of March 31, 2013 stood at $281.3 billion.

While not as popularly known globally Sato heads a huge company very few CEOs would ever have a chance of running.

Shuzo Sumi: Tokio Marine Holdings Chairman

Shuzo Sumi is Representative Director and Chairman of The Board of Tokio Marine Holdings. Like many in Japan and the rest of the world the position was reached through years of hard work resulting in the climb up the corporate ladder.

For Sumi the rise to the top post took over 40 years. He joined Tokio Marine in April 1970. Rising through the ranks in June 2000 he became Director and Chief Representative in London, Overseas Division of Tokio Marine. Two years later he became Managing Director of Tokio Marine.

By June 2005 Sumi was appointed Senior Managing Director of Tokio Marine and Nichido. In June 2007 he was both President and Chief Executive Officer of Tokio Marine & Nichido and Tokio Marine Holdings. Six years later on June 2013 he was elected Chairman of the Board of Tokio Marine & Nichido as well as Chairman of the Board of Tokio Marines Holdings.

Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is an insurance holding company, primarily engaged in life and non-life insurance business in Japan and internationally. Earnings for nine months ended December 31, 2012 consolidated ordinary income was JPY 3,167,354 million which was a marked improvement from JPY 2,693,878 million a year ago. The company itself Tokio Marine was actually established in 1879.

Fujio Mitarai: Returning President Of Canon

Fujio Mitarai was born on September 23, 1935 in Kamae, Oita, Japan. While many heads of technology companies have business or engineering backgrounds Mitarai came with a law degree. He studied law at Chou University.

He was Corporate Auditor of Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. and later joined Canon Inc. in April 1961. He became President of Canon, U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. in 1979. Mitarai became the Managing Director of Canon, Inc. in 1985 and later served as In-charge of HQ Administration starting January, 1989. Among other positions he promoted to Executive Vice President in March 1993. Mitarai became the sixth president of Canon, Inc. in 1995. He was elected Chairman in March 2006.

Mitarai employed a unique management approach blending eastern and western styles to shape Canon, Inc. into a very successful company. He executed a large overhaul of the company which allowed it to return to profitability. His style of management has been dubbed “the Mitarai way.”

In 2010 Mitarai resigned from the Chairman position and became Chairman Emeritus. It seems like his talents are still needed as he returned as President in 2012.

  

Takashi Tanaka: KDDI President

Takashi Tanaka was born on February 26, 1957. He earned an electrical engineering degree from Kyoto University. Takashi also attended graduate school at Stanford University.

He joined KDDI in 1981. Takashi has risen through the ranks and among the positions he has held include Associate Senior Vice President (June 2007), Senior Vice President, Director (June 2010) and was appointed President on December 2010.

KDDI a Japanese telecommunications operator and given the highly competitive environment Takashi has to keep the company on its toes. When he became head of KDDI the company was already facing two years of profit decline in its mobile devices division. It had difficulties in transition to smart phones. This led to subscribers looking for service elsewhere.

Arresting this decline became one of his priorities. He understood that the company has significant human resources which could be tapped.  KDDI in 2012 partnered with HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturing company to sell HTC J mobile phones in Japan.

Takashi has pushed for a two growth strategy using the assets the huge telecommunication company already has at hand most notably having both mobile and fixed-line businesses.  By 2013 KDDI was already achieving increased profits. 

Toshiaki Egashira: Making It Work

Toshiaki Egashira is the president and CEO of MS&AD Insurance Holding, Inc. It is a holding company formed in April 2008 (name changed in April 2010) through the merger of Aioi Insurance Co., Ltd, Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., Ltd, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group. The Group writes marine, fire, casualty, automobile, life and allied insurance policies. It also runs financial services and agencies.

MS&AD holds the largest share of non-life insurance premiums in Japan; it is also among the top 10 in the world.

To make this huge company work involves a lot of leadership skills since each of the three companies that were merged obviously have their own way of doing things. Egashira though has been in the insurance business all his life and possesses the experience and qualifications to make it work.

Egashira was born in Japan in 1948 and graduated with a degree in law from Keio University. He entered Taisho Marine and Fire Insurance, Co. Ltd. in April 1972. After rising through the ranks he became executive officer, general manager of Fire & Casualty Underwriting Dept., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd (MSI) in October 2001. After holding key executive positions he became co-chief executive officer of MSI in April 2006. Then in June 2006 Egashira became president, director and co-chief executive officer of MSI. In September 2006 he became president and chief executive officer of MSI. There were many changes in his title within a course of a year clearly illustrating his importance to the company.

After the merger in 2008 Egashira became the president and a director.  He solidified his position in April 2009 becoming president, director and CEO. The following year Egashira also became chairman of the board.

Egashira sees global expansion through organic growth and mergers and acquisitions as critical to the company’s future given the aging population of Japan. With his solid insurance experience he looks to be the leader who can get this huge task done. 

Koichi Miyata: SMFG Head

Koichi Miyata joined Sumitomo Mitsui Bank in 1976 after graduating from university. In 2003 Koichi was appointed as a director of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). He was then appointed in 2006 as a managing director of SMBC. In 2009, he became a senior managing director. 

Koichi in 2010 was appointed as a Director of SMFG (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group). This is the umbrella organization of which SMBC is under. In this position he was the Deputy Head of the Treasury Unit of SMFG as well.  In April 2011 Koichi was appointed President of SMFG. He was now the head of a very large financial group in Japan and the whole world as well. 

One advantage presented itself when Koichi became president. The financial world was still recovering from the financial meltdown in 2008. Japanese banks which had more prudent outlook were largely insulated from the worst part of the crisis. 

His Group bought carefully chosen assets from struggling European lenders. They are looking at acquisitions abroad and pushing strongly in China. As a result Group net profit in the April-December (2012) period increased by 34 percent from a year earlier.

As expected of a competent leader, Koichi has taken advantage of opportunities that came about.