Taizo Odawara
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He was born in 1892 in Mukaishima-higashi Village, Mitsugi District, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Kotocho, Onomichi), and graduated from Hiroshima Prefectural Onomichi Commercial School in March 1911. After passing the Ministry of Education's certification exam for secondary commerce teachers, he joined Kubota Iron Works in May 1917. He was not a university-trained engineer but an administrator from a commercial school. In December 1945, 28 years after joining, he became Senior Managing Director and entered the postwar management team.
Selection
He became President in January 1950. Tozo Kubota, who shared the company's name, had joined in June 1921, become Senior Managing Director in June 1938 and Director and Executive Vice President in December 1945, and moved to Chairman in May 1950. The presidency appears to have passed from an executive bearing the Kubota family name to a career insider who joined in 1917. From November 1960 he also served as chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, remaining president while holding that outside post until he stepped back to chairman in December 1967.
Initiatives
In June 1953 the company changed its name to Kubota Tekko, and it entered plastic pipes in April 1954, housing materials in November 1957 and environmental businesses in May 1961 in quick succession. In farm machinery, it launched the all-domestic T15 tractor in March 1960 and began selling mid-size tractors, reshaping its lineup from power tillers to complete machines. Net sales grew from ¥8.1 billion in the fiscal year ended April 1953 to ¥91.1 billion in FY ended April 1967. In December 1967 he stepped back to Chairman and handed the presidency to Kenzo Yoneda.
Career
Career
Kubota Iron Works
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1917 | Joined |
| 1938 | Managing Director |
| 1950 | President |
| 1967 | Stepped down as President |