Shinzo Maeda
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined in 1970, became head of the Cosmetics Planning Department in the Marketing Division in 1996 and head of the Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters in the International Business Division in 1997. He became head of the Corporate Planning Office in January 2003 and Director and Executive Officer that June. After product planning and overseas markets he moved to a role overseeing company-wide plans; he did not come from the front line of leading sales companies or plants. In the year after he took office, the major shareholders were trust banks and financial institutions led by The Master Trust Bank of Japan with 6.06%, and no founding family name appears in the top ten.
Selection
In June 2005 he became President, succeeding Morio Ikeda. In the previous fiscal year, ended March 2005, revenue was ¥639.8 billion with a consolidated net loss of ¥8.8 billion; the return to profit in FY ended March 2003 had not lasted. The appointment appears to have applied his background in international business and corporate planning to both rationalizing brands and expanding overseas. After becoming Chairman in April 2011, he returned in April 2013 to also serve as President while remaining Chairman. In FY ended March 2013, just before that, the company had posted a net loss of ¥14.6 billion.
Initiatives
He set a policy of consolidating more than 100 brands and establishing core brands capable of leading each of 17 categories. The hair care line TSUBAKI, launched in 2006, received over ¥5.0 billion in advertising in its first year, lifting the company's shampoo market share from fourth to first among manufacturers. In March that year it closed the Maizuru and Itabashi plants. Consolidated revenue grew to ¥723.4 billion and operating income to ¥63.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2008. In January 2010 it announced the acquisition of U.S.-based Bare Escentuals through an all-cash tender offer totaling about $1.7 billion, its first large cross-border M&A deal.
Career
Career
Shiseido
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1970 | Joined |
| Jun 1996 | General Manager, Cosmetics Planning Department, Marketing Headquarters |
| Jun 1997 | General Manager, International Business 1 Department, International Business Headquarters and General Manager, Marketing Development Office |
| Dec 1997 | General Manager, Asia Pashifikku Regional Headquarters, International Business Headquarters |
| Jan 2000 | コスメニティー価値創造センター 海外セルフ営業部長 (translation pending) |
| Apr 2001 | 化粧品事業戦略本部 推販部 (translation pending) |
| Jan 2003 | General Manager, Corporate Planning Office |
| Jun 2003 | Director, Executive Officer |
| Jun 2005 | Representative Director, Executive Officer, President |
| Apr 2011 | Chairman |
| Apr 2011 | Stepped down as President |
| Apr 2013 | Representative Director, Chairman and Executive Officer, President |
| Apr 2014 | Stepped down as President |