Kunio Hattori
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined the company in April 1951 and became a Director in 1970 as head of the Personnel Division. He became Managing Director in charge of chemical and industrial products in 1973, Senior Managing Director with the same responsibility in 1976, Director and Executive Vice President in March 1980, and President in March 1981. A career employee who worked in personnel and chemical and industrial products, he had long overseen businesses other than tires.
Selection
In March 1981 he moved up from Director and Executive Vice President to President, succeeding Shigemichi Shibamoto. Direct management by the Ishibashi family had passed to professional managers in the 1970s, but as of December 1974 the major shareholders were Kanichiro Ishibashi with 13.59% and the Ishibashi Foundation with 9.43%, so the Ishibashi family still held the capital. The company held about half of the domestic tire market, while a 1977 industry review pointed to the limits of diversifying at home and the inevitability of entering the U.S.
Initiatives
In November 1982 the company set up Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing in the U.S., beginning its own production in North America; that company was merged into Bridgestone/Firestone in May 1990. In April 1984 it changed its name from Bridgestone Tire to Bridgestone Corporation. In December 1980, just before he took office, it had bought shares of Australia's Uniroyal Holdings, gaining an overseas production base, and his four years in office appear to have been devoted to shifting from exports to local production.
Career
Career
Bridgestone
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1951 | Joined |
| 1970 | Director, General Manager, Human Resources Headquarters |
| 1973 | Managing Director |
| 1976 | Senior Managing Director |
| Mar 1980 | Executive Vice President |
| Mar 1981 | President |
| Feb 1985 | Stepped down as President |