Takeshi Kawai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined NGK Spark Plug in April 1987, served as engineering manager of the Sensor division, and became an Executive Officer in April 2012. He then rose to Managing Executive Officer in April 2015, Director and Managing Executive Officer that June, and Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer in April 2016, before becoming Representative Director, President and Executive Officer in April 2019. A career employee, he spent 32 years on the engineering side of the sensor business before becoming President.
Selection
In April 2019 he succeeded Shinichi Odo as President. Odo stepped back to Representative Director and Chairman, ending the combined chairman-and-president role he had held for three years from 2016. In the fiscal year before he took over, ended March 2019, consolidated net sales rose to ¥425.0 billion, but operating profit fell ¥12.0 billion, from ¥67.3 billion the year before to ¥55.3 billion. The handover came in a year of higher sales but lower profit, and the appointment appears to have entrusted the reshaping of the business portfolio to an engineer.
Initiatives
Consolidated net sales, ¥425.0 billion in FY ended March 2019, reached ¥652.9 billion in FY ended March 2025, and operating profit rose from ¥55.3 billion to ¥129.7 billion. The operating margin climbed from 13.0% to 19.9%. The workforce was 15,994 in FY ended March 2019 and 15,980 in FY ended March 2024, so the sales growth came without adding staff.
Career
Career
Niterra (NGK Spark Plug)
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1987 | Joined |
| Apr 2012 | Executive Officer |
| Apr 2015 | Managing Executive Officer |
| Jun 2015 | Director, Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2016 | Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2019 | Representative Director, President, Executive Officer |
| Apr 2026 | Stepped down as President |
References 1
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本特殊陶業 有価証券報告書【役員の状況】