Yukio Shibayama
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Under the commodity division system introduced in December 1962, Sumitomo Corporation became a company with nine divisions: steel, nonferrous metals, electrical equipment, machinery, agricultural and marine products, chemicals, textiles, materials and fuels, and real estate. 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 transactions reaching about ¥790 billion. Yukio Shibayama rose from Director and Executive Vice President to President. He was a President from inside the company that had built this nine-division structure.
Selection
In 1970 he succeeded Hisashi Tsuda as the fourth President. In the fiscal year ended March 1970, the year before he took office, revenue was ¥1,314.9 billion, ordinary income ¥5.5 billion and net income ¥2.6 billion. The major shareholders in March 1970 were, in order, Sumitomo Bank, Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Sumitomo Life and Sumitomo Metal Mining, with Sumitomo-affiliated companies occupying the top positions. In August of that year, right after he took office, the company merged with Sogo Boeki.
Initiatives
The company stayed out of large overseas projects such as Mitsubishi Corporation's Brunei LNG and Mitsui & Co.'s IJPC in Iran, repeatedly passing on participation. Internally, opinion was split between officers who, seeing Mitsubishi's success, argued for bolder action, and officers who, seeing Mitsui's failure, supported a cautious policy. It did broaden its business fields, beginning North American automobile sales for Mazda in 1975 and investing in seamless pipe for Saudi Arabia jointly with Sumitomo Metal Industries in 1976.
Career
Career
Sumitomo Corporation
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1970 | President |
| Jun 1977 | Stepped down as President |