Osamu Nagayama
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He moved from the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan to Chugai Pharmaceutical in November 1978, becoming a Director in March 1985, Managing Director in March 1987 and Representative Director and Executive Vice President in March 1989. Whereas his predecessor Hajime Sano came up through R&D, Nagayama rose to the board from the finance side. He became President 14 years after joining, the second top executive from a bank after Kimio Ueno.
Selection
In September 1992 he became President, succeeding Hajime Sano. The global pharmaceutical industry at the time was under pressure to consolidate, with $10 billion in sales and $2 billion in R&D spending seen as the conditions for survival. For Chugai, a mid-sized domestic company, deciding whether to keep growing alone or join with another company became the task of his tenure.
Initiatives
In December 2001 he signed a basic agreement on a strategic alliance with Roche, and through a tender offer, a third-party allotment and a merger with Nippon Roche in October 2002, Roche's stake reached 50.13% at the end of March 2003. Nagayama described the difference in size between the two companies as that between a rank-and-file sumo wrestler and a grand champion. After the alliance the company allocated resources to drug discovery and early development, transferring all shares of Chugai Diagnostics Science to Fujirebio in September 2002 and the Kagamiishi Plant and Tohoku Chugai Pharmaceutical to Nipro in June 2005.
Career
Career
Chugai Pharmaceutical
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Nov 1978 | Joined |
| Mar 1985 | Director |
| Mar 1987 | Managing Director |
| Mar 1989 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
| Sep 1992 | Representative Director, President |
| Mar 2012 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Mar 2012 | Stepped down as President |