Masao Kodama
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from the Department of Applied Chemistry in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in March 1923 and joined Kansai Paint that April. After serving as head of the Tokyo branch and Director and head of Production, he became Director and head of Engineering in June 1949, Managing Director and head of Engineering in May 1955, and Senior Managing Director and head of Engineering in June 1959. He became head of the Technology Division in March 1964, Director and Executive Vice President that May, and President in May 1966. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1899, he was 67 when he became President. He was a career employee who built his board career as head of the technical side.
Selection
He became President in May 1966. His predecessor, Zenshichi Sasaki, had a sales and administration background, having moved from Iwai Shoten to join the company in September 1930 and served as head of headquarters sales and Managing Director and head of General Affairs before becoming President in April 1955. Kodama had headed the technical side since becoming head of the Technology Division in March 1964, and was promoted two years after becoming Executive Vice President. The change appears to have been a shift to an engineer.
Initiatives
In November 1967, his second year, the company acquired shares of Nippon Kako Toryo. In October 1968 it acquired shares of KAT, and that November it co-founded Thai Kansai Paint Co.,Ltd. in Thailand, moving into overseas production. As an engineer president, he inherited the Central Research Laboratory newly built in Hiratsuka in April 1965, the year before he took office. In November 1969 he handed the presidency to Noritaka Kotani after a tenure of three years and six months.
Career
Career
Kansai Paint
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1923 | Joined |
| Jun 1949 | Director, General Manager, Engineering Department |
| May 1955 | Managing Director, General Manager, Engineering Department |
| Jun 1959 | Senior Managing Director, General Manager, Engineering Department |
| Mar 1964 | General Manager, Engineering Headquarters |
| May 1964 | Executive Vice President |
| May 1966 | President |