Akira Saeki
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He was born in Hiroshima in 1917. He joined Hayakawa Metal Works Research Institute in March 1931, becoming a Director in January 1947, Managing Director in May 1954 and Senior Managing Director in May 1958. It took him 16 years from joining to become a Director and 12 years from Senior Managing Director to President. On the board list as of June 1971, while his fellow managing directors also headed the appliance or TV business groups, Saeki's biography lists no post as head of a business division. His path was not one of leading a particular product but of 23 years on the board after joining it young.
Selection
In September 1970 founder Tokuji Hayakawa withdrew to Chairman, and Saeki, then Senior Managing Director, became President. In January that year the company had changed its name to Sharp, and in August it built a general development center in Tenri, Nara Prefecture. Among the senior managing directors as of June 1971, Masaki Seki joined in 1939 and became a Director in November 1960, and Yoshihide Fukao joined in 1946 and also became a Director in November 1960, 13 years after Saeki joined the board in January 1947. In a year when both the company name and the substance of its business were changing, the longest-serving director took over.
Initiatives
In June 1973, two years after he took office, the company launched the EL-805, the world's first LCD calculator using the COS method, at ¥26,800, shifting resources away from a calculator price war among 18 makers toward its own devices, semiconductors and LCDs. It built a large refrigerator plant in Yao in January 1979, the Shinjo plant in Shinjo, Nara Prefecture, in March 1981 and the Fukuyama plant in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, in October 1984, adding bases for white goods and electronic components. Net sales, ¥120.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1970, the year before he took office, reached ¥909.6 billion in the FY ended March 1985.
Career
Career
Hayakawa Electric Industry
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Joined as Hayakawa Metal Industries Laboratory |
| Sep 1970 | President |
| Jun 1986 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 1986 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 1998 | Supreme Advisor |
References 3
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本企業要覧 1971年版
- 日本企業要覧 1976年版
- シャープ 有価証券報告書【沿革】