Asajiro Takahashi
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from Tokyo University of Commerce in March 1927 and joined Kirin Brewery that month, becoming head of the first sales department in August 1942 and also Tokyo branch manager in March 1943. In July 1944 he was seconded to the beer distribution control body, moved in March 1948 to the Liquor Distribution Corporation as a board member, and when the corporation was dissolved in July 1949 returned to Kirin Brewery as Director and head of sales. He also headed advertising from March 1953 and advanced to Managing Director in February 1958. A sales man, he spent the era of controls and rationing on the selling side.
Selection
In March 1969 he succeeded Masuo Tokikuni as President, with Tokikuni moving to Chairman. Relieved as head of sales in December 1963, he rose to Senior Managing Director in September 1966 and reached the presidency two and a half years later. His predecessor was a manufacturing man who had graduated in applied chemistry from the Faculty of Engineering of Tokyo Imperial University in 1917 and served as manager of the Sendai and Yokohama plants and head of manufacturing, so the presidency passed from the making side to the selling side. It was a period when focusing sales on the household market was pushing up market share.
Initiatives
Domestic beer market share kept rising during his tenure, reaching 58.9% in 1971 and 60.1% in December 1972. Net sales grew from ¥323.6 billion in the FY ended January 1971 to ¥429.7 billion in the FY ended January 1973, and ordinary income from ¥13.7 billion to ¥20.8 billion. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of calls to break up the company, the share issue was debated in the Diet for four years, and Kirin Brewery pursued a plan to shift emphasis to whisky, soft drinks, fine chemicals and foods. In August 1972 it set up Kirin-Seagram, and Takahashi positioned the move into whisky as a long-term business with a 20-to-30-year horizon. He became Chairman in September 1973.
Career
Career
Kirin Holdings
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1968 | Representative Director, President |
| 1973 | Stepped down as President |