Yoshio Kokusho
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Meiji Seika in 1937 and moved to Meiji Milk Products as a Director in 1944. A graduate in agricultural chemistry from Kagoshima Higher School of Agriculture and Forestry in 1916, he entered Meiji Milk Products directly as an officer without serving as section or department head. He rose to Managing Director in 1948 and Senior Managing Director in 1950, and became President in November 1955, 11 years after moving. He was one of those who embodied, early in the postwar period, the pattern of officers from Meiji Sugar and Meiji Seika running Meiji Milk Products.
Selection
He became President in November 1955 and Chairman in December 1966. In May 1972, however, when his successor Takao Asanuma left the presidency, he returned as President while remaining Chairman. Born in 1892, he returned 17 years after first taking office. A year later, in May 1973, he moved back to Chairman and handed the presidency to Senior Managing Director Masanori Ono. It appears to have been a stopgap appointment, temporarily returning a former Chairman to the top.
Initiatives
In November 1959 he promoted department-head-level managers, including Masanori Ono, Keijo Fujimi and Shigemasa Kondo, to the board all at once. Two of those who joined the board then later succeeded to the presidency. In October 1963 he set up a sales headquarters and a production department, reorganizing the structure to place sales office managers in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. After becoming Chairman in December 1966, he returned as President for just one year from May 1972 and handed over to Masanori Ono.
Career
Career
Meiji Seika Kaisha
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1937 | Joined |
Meiji Dairies Corporation
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1944 | Director |
| 1948 | Managing Director |
| 1950 | Senior Managing Director |
| Nov 1955 | President |
| Dec 1966 | Chairman |
| May 1972 | President |
| May 1973 | Chairman |