Shunji Kono
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance in 1951. He became Director and General Manager of the Personnel Department in July 1978 and Executive Vice President in June 1987, rising through personnel to become President from the vice presidency. July 1978, when he became Director and head of personnel, was the month Fumio Watanabe became President. He spent 39 years inside the company from joining to becoming President.
Selection
In June 1990 he moved from Executive Vice President to President, succeeding Haruo Takeda. Total assets at the end of March 1990 were ¥4,155.6 billion, well ahead of second-placed Yasuda Fire's ¥3,167.4 billion, and its market share of direct net premiums was 18.3% against 14.7%. In personal and household lines, however, the two were neck and neck: in retail rankings by prefecture at the end of March 1990, the company was third in Tokyo and second in Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa, failing to take first place in the Tokyo area.
Initiatives
On June 1, 1990, the month he took office, he carried out the first organizational reform in five years. He introduced a prefectural division system, upgrading the 12 branches with the largest markets to divisions and creating a Tokyo Division within the head office. The amount of claims that division heads could approve at their own discretion was raised to more than three times its former level, so that most personal contracts could be decided at the prefectural division without referring to head office. In April 1993 he launched the new mid-term management plan IC-95, and by 1995 the company's share of net premiums written had reached 18%. The revised Insurance Business Act was promulgated in June 1995, and in May the following year AIU of the US protested against a revision of personal accident insurance rates.
Career
Career
Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1951 | Joined |
| Jul 1978 | Director, General Manager, Human Resources Department |
| Jun 1987 | Executive Vice President |
| Jun 1990 | President |
| Jun 1996 | Stepped down as President |