Yoshiteru Akita
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined JAFCO in April 1993 and, after working at Jack, became Representative Director of ICP in September 1999. He became a Director of Kakaku.com in May 2000 and its Representative Director and President in December 2001, stepping back to Director and senior adviser in June 2006. He joined Cookpad as a Director in July 2007. Among major shareholders in the fiscal year ended April 2011, he was second with 17.79%. Though an executive from outside, he also had a shareholding base.
Selection
In May 2012 he succeeded founder Akimitsu Sano as Representative Executive Officer. The promotion came after nearly five years as a Director from July 2007, so he was not brought in from outside. In the fiscal year ended April 2012, which closed just before he took office, non-consolidated net sales were ¥3.9 billion and operating profit ¥1.9 billion, continuing growth in both, so the change was not for a turnaround. The appointment appears to have valued his experience leading Kakaku.com as President.
Initiatives
During his tenure the company acquired overseas recipe services and pursued diversification beyond cooking recipes. Consolidated net sales grew from ¥6.5 billion in the fiscal year ended April 2014 to ¥13.7 billion in FY ended December 2015, and operating profit to ¥6.5 billion. The fiscal year-end was changed from April to December during this period, so the periods on either side of FY ended December 2014 are not the same length and cannot be compared directly. In FY ended December 2016, which included his departure in March 2016, consolidated net sales were ¥16.8 billion while operating profit fell to ¥5.0 billion.
Career
Career
JAFCO
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1993 | Joined |
Jakku
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1996 | Joined |
ICP
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Sep 1999 | Representative Director |
Kakaku.com
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 2000 | Director |
| Dec 2001 | Representative Director, President |
| Jun 2006 | Director, Senior Advisor |
Cookpad
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 2007 | Director |
| May 2012 | Representative Corporate Executive Officer |
| Mar 2016 | Director and Corporate Executive Officer |
| Mar 2016 | Stepped down as President |
Minnanowedingu
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 2015 | Chairman |
References 1
References (Japanese primary sources)
- クックパッド株式会社 有価証券報告書【役員の状況】