Haruo Kawahara
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He became a Director of Toshiba in June 1996 and was put in charge of the Corporate Planning Division. He became Managing Director in June 1997 and moved to adviser in July 2000. In June 2002 he was brought in from outside as Director, President, Representative Director and Executive Officer and CEO of Kenwood, becoming its Chairman in June 2007. In October 2008 he also became Representative Director of Victor Company of Japan. His career was in corporate planning and turnarounds; he had no experience in the audio or automotive business divisions.
Selection
In October 2008 Victor Company of Japan and Kenwood established the joint holding company JVC Kenwood Holdings through a share transfer, listing it on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Kawahara, then Chairman of Kenwood, became Representative Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and in June 2009 also took the presidency as Representative Director, Chairman and President. In the fiscal year ended March 2010, after the launch, the company posted an operating loss of ¥6.5 billion and a net loss of ¥27.8 billion on consolidated net sales of ¥398.7 billion, a wider loss than the ¥18.8 billion net loss of the pre-merger FY ended March 2009.
Initiatives
After an operating loss of ¥6.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2010, right after the merger, the company secured operating income of ¥13.0 billion in the FY ended March 2011. After returning as CEO in November 2013, he set about reshuffling the business portfolio. In March 2014 he acquired EF Johnson Technologies, a maker of professional radios compliant with the North American P25 digital radio standard, while selling Kenwood Geobit to Nojima the same month and the CD/DVD manufacturer JVC America to Cinram Group Inc. in June. In April 2015 he made the European automotive components maker ASK Industries a subsidiary and sold the shares of Teichiku Entertainment to Xing.
Career
Career
Toshiba
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 1996 | Director, General Manager, Corporate Planning Department |
| Jun 1997 | Managing Director |
| Jul 2000 | Advisor |
Kenwood
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2002 | Representative Director, President and Executive Officer, CEO |
| Jun 2007 | Representative Director, Chairman |
JVCKenwood
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Oct 2008 | 代表取締役会長 兼 執行役員最高経営 責任者(CEO) 日本ビクター株式会社(現 JVCケンウッド) 代表取締役 月 (translation pending) |
| Jun 2009 | Representative Director, Chairman, President and Executive Officer, Chief Executive Officer |
| May 2011 | Representative Director, Chairman and Executive Officer, Head of Integrated Management |
| May 2011 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 2012 | Representative Director and Chairman of the Board |
| Nov 2013 | Representative Director, Chairman of the Board and Executive Officer, Chief Executive Officer |
| May 2014 | Representative Director, Chairman and Executive Officer, Chief Executive Officer |
| Jun 2016 | Stepped down as President |
References 1
References (Japanese primary sources)
- JVC・ケンウッド・ホールディングス 有価証券報告書【役員の状況】（2010年3月期）