Junji Ito
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1922, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Keio University in March 1948 and joined Kanebo in April that year. Thirteen years after joining he became a Director in December 1961, then Managing Director in November 1964, Senior Managing Director in June 1966 and Director and Executive Vice President in May 1968, before becoming Representative Director and President in June that year. His career record in the directory lists no post as plant manager or division head; he reached the presidency in 20 years without passing through a role leading production sites.
Selection
His predecessor Itoji Muto saw the Greater Kanebo plan collapse in the 1965 recession and was ousted as President, blamed for failed diversification. The change was decried as a coup at the time, and Ito's appointment became the subject of Saburo Shiroyama's novel Yakuinshitsu Gogo Sanji. Executive Vice President Wataji Kurushima, in office when he took over, had needed 28 years from joining in 1936 to reach the board, and Senior Managing Director Magorokuro Sekiguchi 26 years from joining in 1938; reaching the board in 13 years, Ito was strikingly fast among the directors around him.
Initiatives
In 1967 he set out the Pentagon management strategy, centered on five fields: textiles, cosmetics, foods, pharmaceuticals and housing and environment. In October 1967 he spun off the cosmetics sales division as Kanebo Cosmetics Sales, and in December 1971 changed the company name from Kanegafuchi Boseki to Kanebo. Annual sales in the FY ended April 1969 were ¥86.2 billion in cotton, wool and silk, ¥50.3 billion in synthetic and chemical fibers and ¥16.2 billion in cosmetics; by the FY ended April 1978 synthetic and chemical fibers at ¥207.7 billion had overtaken cotton, wool and silk at ¥73.2 billion, and cosmetics had grown to ¥58.5 billion. In June 1977 he spun off the natural fiber division into a subsidiary.
Career
Career
Kanebo
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1948 | Joined |
| Dec 1961 | Director |
| Nov 1964 | Managing Director |
| Jun 1966 | Senior Managing Director |
| May 1968 | Executive Vice President |
| Jun 1968 | Representative Director, President |
| Dec 1975 | Representative Director, President and Chairman, Acting Head |