Hiroaki Suzuki
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Kyoto Imperial University in 1941 and joined Kobe Steel in 1943. An administrator, he built his career not in plants or research but in general affairs. He became general affairs manager of the Tokyo branch and head of the Osaka office in February 1964, general affairs manager of the Osaka branch in January 1968 and general affairs manager in January 1969, joining the board that May. He became a Managing Director in November 1970, a Senior Managing Director in November 1972 and Executive Vice President in May 1974, rising to President five and a half years after joining the board.
Selection
In November 1974, when Yoshimi Inoue moved to Chairman, he rose from Executive Vice President to President. It was just after the oil crisis, and Kobe Steel's non-consolidated ordinary profit fell from ¥30.9 billion in FY ended March 1974 to ¥21.5 billion in FY ended March 1975, his first year. Hideo Sugisawa, appointed in May 1973, was already serving as Executive Vice President, but Suzuki, who joined the board in May 1969, became President before Sugisawa, who had joined it in May 1965. The appointment appears to have put an administrator from general affairs in charge as the company swung from expanding production to shrinking demand.
Initiatives
He served as President for one year and ten months, from November 1974 to September 1976. The post-oil-crisis production cuts came right after the company had built a 6-million-ton-a-year capacity with the No. 2 blast furnace at Kakogawa in 1973. Non-consolidated net sales fell from ¥768.7 billion in FY ended March 1975 to ¥736.2 billion in FY ended March 1976, and net income dropped from ¥10.3 billion to ¥3.2 billion. The only site added in this period was the Fukuchiyama plant in September 1975, and his tenure was spent carrying the capacity built up at Kakogawa through a trough in demand.
Career
Career
Kobe Steel
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Sep 1943 | Joined |
| 1962 | Secretary |
| 1964 | General Manager, General Affairs Department |
| May 1969 | Director |
| 1970 | Managing Director |
| 1972 | Senior Managing Director |
| May 1974 | Executive Vice President |
| Nov 1974 | President |
| Sep 1976 | Stepped down as President |