Kineo Okada
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He was born on October 25, 1933. In June 1966 he founded a company and became its Representative Director and President, starting out as a sales company wholesaling clam extract to instant noodle makers. He has said he was strongly stirred to see instant noodles grow to 4 billion servings a year in 1966. The parent of today's Ariake Japan is Nihon Shokushi Kogyo, established in May 1978 with capital of ¥5 million, and Okada became its Representative Director and President in June 1981.
Selection
He was the first president, with no predecessor. He served as president from the founding in June 1966 until stepping back to Representative Director and Chairman in June 2007, and was succeeded by Tomoki Tagawa, who had joined Ariake Shokuhin Kako in March 1976. At the end of the FY ended March 2006, the major shareholders were Japan Food Business, where Okada was also Representative Director and President, first with 16.21%, Okada himself second with 12.85%, the Kineo Okada Memorial Scholarship Foundation fifth with 6.69%, and Naoki Okada eighth with 4.38%.
Initiatives
In June 1968, two years after founding, he shifted the core from clams, which had become unobtainable as a raw material, to livestock extracts from beef, pork and chicken, building a plant in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, and moving from wholesaling to manufacturing. When plant makers declined to develop equipment, the company built its own extraction equipment and production system, achieving automation of extraction in 1978. Starting with a U.S. subsidiary in February 1985, it set up local subsidiaries in China, France and Belgium, with Okada personally taking the post of chairman or president at each. In April 1996 it acquired land for a second Kyushu plant in Saza, Nagasaki Prefecture, which was completed in June 1998 at a total cost of ¥7.5 billion.
Career
Career
Ariake Japan
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 1966 | Special Fisheries Sales, President, Ariake (at founding) |
| Jun 2007 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Jun 2007 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 2016 | Special Senior Advisor |
References 3
References (Japanese primary sources)
- アリアケジャパン 有価証券報告書【役員の状況】
- アリアケジャパン 有価証券報告書【沿革】
- 証券アナリストジャーナル 1992年1月号 別冊付録「企業」アリアケジャパン（岡田甲子男 社長）