Shintaro Odagiri
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1907, he graduated from the School of Commerce at Waseda University in March 1932. He joined Shin-Etsu Chemical in July 1936, became General Manager of Accounting in April 1946 and a Director in June 1948. From January 1959 he served as the executive in charge of accounting, became Managing Director in July 1961 and Senior Managing Director in January 1968. A career employee from the accounting side, he spent 38 years from joining to the presidency, 26 of them as an executive. Whereas his predecessor Shuzo Kobayashi and Kobayashi's predecessor Tokusaburo Kosaka had both come from outside, he had risen through the ranks within the company.
Selection
In July 1974 he rose from Representative Director and Executive Vice President to President. His predecessor Shuzo Kobayashi moved to Chairman. He had become Executive Vice President in July 1971, when Kobayashi became President, so the change followed a three-year run-up. He was 67 when he took office. In the fiscal year ended May 1974, net sales were ¥76.1 billion and ordinary income ¥6.8 billion, both above the previous year's ¥53.3 billion and ¥3.8 billion. Shintech Inc. had been launched in Texas in July 1973, the year before he took office, and dealing with this investment became his first task.
Initiatives
In 1976, his second year, when joint venture partner Robintech ran into financial trouble, he overrode opposition from a majority of the board to acquire all of its shares and made Shintech a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1979, when Dow Corning proposed dissolving their joint venture, he exercised the same right-of-first-negotiation clause and acquired all shares of Shin-Etsu Handotai. Both PVC and semiconductor silicon thus moved to sole ownership, creating a structure in which capacity expansions could be decided without a partner's consent. By 1980 the products of 1955 had almost disappeared, and fine chemicals accounted for 40% of net sales. Net sales in the fiscal year ended May 1980 were ¥137.5 billion.
Career
Career
Shin-Etsu Chemical
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 1936 | Joined |
| Apr 1946 | General Manager, Accounting Department |
| Jun 1948 | Director |
| Jan 1959 | in charge of Accounting |
| Jul 1961 | Managing Director |
| Jan 1968 | Senior Managing Director |
| Jul 1971 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
| Jul 1974 | Representative Director, President |
References 4
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本企業要覧 1975年版
- 日本企業要覧 1962年版
- 日本企業要覧 1981年版
- 信越化学工業 有価証券報告書【沿革】