Koji Kobayashi
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined NEC in April 1929 and was manager of the Tamagawa-Mukai plant in 1946. After working on the manufacturing and engineering front line, he advanced to Executive Vice President and was promoted to President in November 1964. In 1978, after stepping down as President, he proposed the concept of C&C (Computers & Communications), referring to the fusion of computing and communications.
Selection
In November 1964 he succeeded Hinko Watanabe as President, and Watanabe moved to Chairman the same month. The company had just set up Nippon Electric New York in the US in January 1963, the previous year, and an Executive Vice President who had come up through engineering and manufacturing took over a company that was starting to extend its sales overseas.
Initiatives
He completed the Central Research Laboratories in September 1975. Non-consolidated net sales grew from ¥101.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1967 to ¥248.9 billion in the FY ended March 1971 and ¥427.4 billion in the FY ended March 1976, his final year, more than quadrupling over his roughly ten years in office. By 1966 the computer business had shifted from supplying machines to providing systems integrated with software. In June 1976 he moved to Chairman, handing the presidency to Tadao Tanaka.
Career
Career
NEC
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1929 | Joined |
| 1946 | 玉川向製造所長 (translation pending) |
| Nov 1964 | President |
| Jun 1976 | Chairman |
| Jun 1976 | Stepped down as President |