Ken Tanabe
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Raised in Osaka's old downtown, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University and joined Nippon Chisso Hiryo. As head of the Kumamoto sales office he worked hard to open routes through fertilizer wholesalers, learning business through entertaining clients and holding dealer meetings. In June 1955, Jiro Ueno, President of Sekisui Chemical, who had undergone gallstone surgery, recruited him with an eye to succession, and he moved to that company as Director and head of business operations. When the building materials division was created in 1958 he became its head, rising to Senior Managing Director.
Selection
Sekisui House Sangyo was established in August 1960 with capital of ¥100 million in response to the reception of the prototype Sekisui House Type A, with Sekisui Chemical investing 30% and seven companies, including Shin Nippon Chisso Hiryo and Asahi Chemical Industry, 10% each. By the fiscal year ended July 1963, accumulated losses had reached ¥90 million, approaching its capital, and President Ueno announced a withdrawal from the housing business. When Tanabe, then Senior Managing Director, objected that it would be a waste to shut it down, Ueno replied, "If you feel that strongly, go and run it yourself," and sent him in as President.
Initiatives
After taking office he dropped sales through dealers and switched to direct sales and responsible construction by the company itself, and had the sales division work Sundays with Wednesdays off, converting overtime pay into a field allowance. On the production side he installed steel and timber processing equipment at the Shiga plant and in November 1965 introduced the industry's first electrodeposition coating. In the fiscal year ended July 1964, its fourth year, the company turned its first profit, ¥9.4 million. In August 1970 it listed on the Second Sections of the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges, where shares offered at ¥410 opened at ¥900.
Career
Career
Nippon Chisso Hiryo
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1936 | Joined |
Sekisui Chemical
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 1955 | Director, General Manager, Operations Department |
| Senior Managing Director |
Sekisui House
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 1963 | President |
| Apr 1992 | Stepped down as President |