Minoru Murofushi
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined C. Itoh in April 1956 and was posted to New York in his eighth year, eventually spending a total of 12 years in the United States. In 1970-71, on a special assignment from Senior Managing Director Ryuzo Sejima, he negotiated directly with the Chairman of General Motors at age 39, laying the groundwork for its alliance with Isuzu Motors. After returning to Japan in 1973 he handled resource deals as acting General Manager of General Development, putting together a methanol project in Saudi Arabia. He served as head of the Foods Division from April 1985 and as General Manager for North America and President of C. Itoh America from August 1986.
Selection
In June 1990 he succeeded Isao Yonekura as President. At 59, he was promoted from Senior Managing Director over nine more senior officers. The candidates were Murofushi, Kento Furihata and Takanori Kanbayashi, and Yonekura chose Murofushi on an overall judgment that, with investment and loan balances larger than at other major trading companies, the most energetic of the three was best suited. Given how unprecedented the appointment was, establishing his leadership within the company was cited as a challenge.
Initiatives
When he took office, C. Itoh was in the midst of structural reform on a scale unseen since its founding. All investment and loan proposals had previously gone to the management committee, but to speed up decisions he delegated authority so that 70% could be approved at the business division level. The company merged Aoyama Jisho in April 1991 and C. Itoh Real Estate in October 1992, bringing the real estate business into the parent. In February 1993 it set up Tokyu Community and Aoyama Kaihatsu, and the ¥20 billion for buying land on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa was lent by a C. Itoh-affiliated nonbank. Interest-bearing debt reached ¥5.2 trillion in the fiscal year ended March 1998.
Career
Career
Itochu
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1956 | Joined |
| Apr 1985 | General Manager, Food Headquarters |
| Jun 1985 | Director |
| Aug 1986 | General Manager and President, North America, Itochu America |
| Jun 1987 | Managing Director |
| Jun 1989 | Senior Managing Director |
| Jun 1990 | President |
| Apr 1998 | Stepped down as President |