Noritaka Kurauchi
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
A career employee, he joined Sumitomo Electric Industries in April 1958 and rose from Managing Director to Representative Director and President in June 1991. An engineering graduate, he spent 33 years at the company before becoming President. He went straight from Managing Director to President without serving as Senior Managing Director or Executive Vice President, appointed from a rank one step below that of his predecessor Tetsuro Kawakami, who had risen from Representative Director and Senior Managing Director.
Selection
In June 1991 he succeeded Tetsuro Kawakami as Representative Director and President, with Kawakami moving to Representative Director and Chairman that year. In FY ended March 1992, his first full year, consolidated net sales were ¥1,157.2 billion and net income ¥32.0 billion, and sales stayed in the ¥1.1 trillion range through FY ended March 1996. His role appears to have been running the overseas production and functional materials his predecessor had expanded, amid stalled domestic demand.
Initiatives
In 1994 the company established the optical fiber subsidiary Sumitomo Electric Lightwave in the United States. Following wiring harnesses in the United States in 1986, it opened a North American production base for optical fiber as well. In 1999, the year he stepped down, it transferred its brake and ABS business to Sumitomo Electric Brake Systems and spun off Sumitomo Electric Fine Polymer. This restructuring, carving out businesses into separate companies, continued from then until 2003.
Career
Career
Sumitomo Electric Industries
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1958 | Joined |
| Jun 1991 | Representative Director, President |
| Jun 1999 | Chairman |
| Jun 1999 | Stepped down as President |