Tadashi Ito
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
In fiscal 1967 the business mix was 52% metals, 17% machinery, 12% materials and fuels, 9% chemicals, 8% foods and 2% real estate and other, with metals as Sumitomo Corporation's mainstay. Under the sales group system of June 1979, the commodity divisions were consolidated into four sales groups: steel, machinery and electrical, nonferrous metals, chemicals and fuels, and consumer goods. Tadashi Ito rose from Director and Executive Vice President to President. He came from the core division, having built his career in steel trade.
Selection
In 1982 he succeeded Mitsuo Uemura as the sixth President. In the fiscal year ended March 1982, the year before he took office, revenue was ¥10,964.3 billion, ordinary income ¥44.1 billion and net income ¥15.5 billion. Uemura's principle, set out in 1981, of avoiding long-term projects of ten years or more showed in the results, and in the FY ended March 1981 the company ranked first in the industry with an ordinary income margin of 0.38%.
Initiatives
In 1988 the company adopted the integrated business enterprise concept, pursuing business investment in earnest in addition to traditional trading. The approach of taking equity stakes in operating companies and participating in their management took shape as an organizational framework in this period. Meanwhile, Yasuo Hamanaka, head of the nonferrous metals department, began off-the-books trading on the London Metal Exchange in 1987, which continued for about ten years without the company's knowledge. It was disclosed in June 1996, seven years after Ito stepped down as President.
Career
Career
Sumitomo Corporation
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1982 | President |
| Jun 1990 | Stepped down as President |