Takashi Kawamura
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined the company in April 1962, built his career in the power business and became manager of the Hitachi Works in June 1992. He became a Director in June 1995, Managing Director in June 1997 and Representative Director and Executive Vice President in April 1999, then stepped back to Director in June 2003 and left the parent's board in June 2007. In the meantime he served as Chairman of Hitachi Software Engineering and of Hitachi Plant Engineering & Construction, and from June 2007 moved to Chairman of Hitachi Maxell. His career had taken him from the parent's front line to group companies.
Selection
In the fiscal year ended March 2009 the company posted a consolidated net loss of ¥787.3 billion, the largest at the time among Japanese manufacturers. In April 2009 he replaced Kazuo Furukawa as Representative Executive Officer, Chairman and President. The nominating committee chose Kawamura, who had left the parent to become chairman of Hitachi Maxell. There was little precedent for a subsidiary chairman returning to head the parent, and Kawamura himself took it as something he had not expected.
Initiatives
In October 2009 he reorganized the business groups into in-house companies, introducing an in-house company system with the same independent accountability as major group companies. In April 2010 Hitachi made Hitachi Plant Technologies and Hitachi Maxell wholly owned subsidiaries through share exchanges. Senior former executives objected, asking whether he would sell businesses they had built with sweat and toil, but Kawamura did not change course. The consolidation of listed subsidiaries into the parent continued until the unwinding of parent-subsidiary listings in 2022.
Career
Career
Hitachi
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1962 | Joined |
| Jun 1992 | General Manager, Hitachi Plant |
| Jun 1995 | Director |
| Jun 1997 | Managing Director |
| Apr 1999 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
| Jun 2003 | Director |
| Apr 2009 | Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman and Corporate Executive Officer, President |
| Jun 2009 | Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman, Corporate Executive Officer, President and Director |
| Apr 2010 | Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman and Director |
| Apr 2010 | Stepped down as President |
Hitachi Software Engineering
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2003 | Chairman and Representative Corporate Executive Officer |
Plant Construction, Hitachi
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2005 | Chairman |
Hitachi Makuseru
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2007 | Chairman |