Kiyoshi Sato
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined the company in April 1979, became Business Unit General Manager for Clean Track in December 2001 and Executive Officer attached to the President in April 2003. Just before becoming President he was a Corporate Senior Staff member, equivalent to an Executive Officer, and had no experience as a Director.
Selection
With the bursting of the IT bubble, the company posted a consolidated net loss of ¥19.9 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2002, ending a run of profits that had lasted from its founding through the FY ended March 2001. In the FY ended March 2003 it again posted an ordinary loss of ¥0.2 billion and a net loss of ¥41.5 billion, a second straight year in the red. The company had an unwritten rule that one loss was a warning sign and two in a row meant a change of management. On March 10, 2003, the board, acting on the nominating committee's recommendation, chose 46-year-old Kiyoshi Sato as the next President.
Initiatives
To lower the break-even point, he cut about 1,000 employees, or 10% of the workforce, and consolidated factories. Because the company needed to serve semiconductors for digital consumer electronics with short product lives, he ordered that the production lead time, which had taken five to six months, be cut in half. Consolidated net sales grew from ¥529.6 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2004 to ¥906.0 billion in the FY ended March 2008, with operating income reaching ¥168.5 billion. But the Lehman shock cut net sales to ¥508.0 billion and operating income to ¥14.7 billion in the FY ended March 2009.
Career
Career
Tokyo Electron
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1979 | Joined |
| Dec 2001 | Kurintorakku BUGM |
| Apr 2003 | President, Staff, Executive Officer |
| Jun 2003 | President |
| Apr 2009 | Stepped down as President |