Kunio Nakamura
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He became President in June 2000, the fourth career employee in a row since Toshihiko Yamashita in February 1977. At the end of March 2006 the major shareholders were trust banks and institutional investors such as Moxley and Company with 7.46%, The Master Trust Bank of Japan with 5.73%, Japan Trustee Services Bank with 5.24% and Nippon Life Insurance with 2.73%; the founding family's name did not appear in the top ten.
Selection
His sense of crisis began on the front line, where Matsushita's TVs were at a competitive disadvantage to Sony's flat CRT televisions. In the 1990s Matsushita Electric had restored its finances by cutting interest-bearing debt on the order of ¥1 trillion, but it lacked growth and had let Sony overtake it in sales. In the fiscal year ended March 2000, the year before he took office, consolidated net sales were ¥7,299.3 billion, down from ¥7,890.6 billion in the FY ended March 1998. Nakamura rejected an incremental turnaround plan that accepted the status quo and improved it little by little.
Initiatives
In April 2001 he merged Matsushita Electronics Corporation into the parent, and in October 2002 made five major companies including Matsushita Communication Industrial wholly owned subsidiaries through share exchanges. Autonomous management through spun-off companies had been regarded as a sanctuary left by Konosuke Matsushita. More than 10,000 people left the group through early retirement. In April 2003 he unified the global brand as Panasonic, and in April 2004 made Matsushita Electric Works and PanaHome consolidated subsidiaries. He designated plasma displays as the mainstay of next-generation TVs and built a dedicated plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
Career
Career
Matsushita Electric Industrial
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2000 | President |
| Jun 2006 | Stepped down as President |