Shuichi Sugihara
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Oita Prefecture in 1907, he graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of Tokyo Imperial University in March 1931. He joined Toyo Toki only in May 1948, a mid-career hire at 41. Four years and eight months later, in January 1953, he became a Director, then a Managing Director in January 1957, a Senior Managing Director in January 1959 and Executive Vice President in September 1966. On the same board, Hayato Kurokawa had taken 23 years from joining in 1930 to become a Director, and Katsuji Yamada 23 years from joining in 1936, making Sugihara's five years strikingly short.
Selection
He became Executive Vice President in September 1966 and President ten months later, in July 1967. In the month he took office he also became president of the subsidiary Toto Fudosan. In the fiscal year before he took over, ended November 1966, net sales were ¥14.7 billion, 3.5 times the ¥4.2 billion of FY ended November 1960. The integrated faucet fittings plant, Kokura No. 2, had been completed in April 1967, and the handover came in the midst of continuing investment to boost output of sanitary ware and fittings.
Initiatives
During his tenure he introduced a business division system in 1968 and opened the Nakatsu sanitary ware plant that April. In 1969 the company adopted the TOTO trademark, in March 1970 changed its name from Toyo Toki to Toto Kiki, and that same year closed its tableware division. It was a reorganization that dropped the pottery-maker label and recast the company as a comprehensive maker of building fixtures and equipment. The Oita faucet fittings plant was completed in May 1971. Net sales grew 3.1-fold, from ¥14.7 billion in the year before he took office to ¥45.1 billion in FY ended November 1971, the year before he stepped down.
Career
Career
TOTO
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1948 | Joined |
| Jan 1953 | Director |
| Jan 1957 | Managing Director |
| Jan 1959 | Senior Managing Director |
| Sep 1966 | Executive Vice President |
| Jul 1967 | President |