Tsuneo Ishimaru
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Nippondenso mid-career in May 1962, became a Director in 1978 and Executive Vice President in 1989. He developed car air conditioner technology and grew the heating and cooling business to a quarter of the world market. Sales of heating and cooling equipment reached ¥77.0 billion in fiscal 1975, surpassing the ¥74.1 billion of electrical components, and ¥202.4 billion in fiscal 1980, widening the gap over electrical components at ¥153.2 billion. He was an engineer who had himself built the company's main earner.
Selection
In March 1991 he succeeded Taro Tanaka as President. In 1989 parent Toyota Motor had built its new Hirose plant, moving into production of electronic control units and sensors and R&D on automotive ICs. Toyota's in-house production aimed to give it direct command of the technology and cost of the electronic parts that determine vehicle performance. Consolidated net sales, ¥1,511.6 billion in the fiscal year ended December 1990, fell to ¥1,481.3 billion in FY ended December 1991. The company appears to have entrusted the engineer who had grown it through car air conditioners with competing in electronics.
Initiatives
Toyota Motor asked all its suppliers to cut parts prices 15% by the end of 1996, and presented Nippondenso with 20%. Ishimaru responded that the company would keep its edge through development capability in electronics, the field where its parent had become a competitor. Consolidated net sales shrank from ¥1,523.7 billion in the fiscal year ended December 1992 to ¥1,412.2 billion in FY ended December 1994, and net income fell from ¥41.9 billion to ¥37.2 billion. In FY ended March 1996 they recovered to ¥1,442.6 billion and ¥49.8 billion.
Career
Career
Nippondenso
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1962 | Joined |
| 1978 | Director |
| 1989 | Executive Vice President |
| Mar 1991 | President |
| Jun 1996 | Stepped down as President |