Hayato Kurokawa
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1909, he graduated from Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School in March 1930 and joined Toyo Toki that August. He became a Director in January 1953, a Managing Director in January 1959, a Senior Managing Director in January 1963 and Executive Vice President in July 1967. From December 1962 he also sat on the board of the subsidiary Toto Fudosan. It took him 23 years from joining to reach the board and 42 years to become President.
Selection
In July 1972 he succeeded Shuichi Sugihara as President, five years after becoming Executive Vice President; he had moved up to that post in July 1967, the same month Sugihara became President. He had also joined the board in January 1953, the same month as Sugihara, so the two climbed the same ladder one rung apart. In the month he took office he also became president of Toto Fudosan, and that November joined the boards of NGK Spark Plug and NGK Insulators.
Initiatives
In FY ended November 1973, his first full year, net sales grew to ¥76.2 billion and ordinary profit to ¥12.4 billion, but in FY ended November 1975, after the first oil crisis, net sales were ¥81.0 billion and ordinary profit ¥8.4 billion, down from ¥91.3 billion and ¥13.1 billion the year before. From then on he held back capital spending and shifted resources to refreshing product designs and colors and moving to higher value-added products. In FY ended November 1978 net sales topped ¥100 billion for the first time at ¥106.3 billion, and in February 1979 he handed the presidency to Katsuji Yamada and became Chairman.
Career
Career
TOTO
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Aug 1930 | Joined |
| Jan 1953 | Director |
| Jan 1959 | Managing Director |
| Jan 1963 | Senior Managing Director |
| Jul 1967 | Executive Vice President |
| Jul 1972 | President |
| Feb 1979 | Chairman |