Genzo Hattori
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Fukushima in 1905, he graduated from Kyoto Imperial University in March 1931 and joined Kawasaki Kisen that year. He became a Director in December 1947 and Senior Managing Director in January 1949, and was appointed President in November 1950. He took 19 years from joining to the presidency, spending his entire career inside the shipping company that had been spun off from Kawasaki Dockyard. His appointment came in the year when ships that had been entrusted to the state during the war were returned to their owners under the April denationalization of shipping.
Selection
In November 1950 he was promoted from Senior Managing Director to President. In January that year the company had listed its shares on the stock exchange, and in April the denationalization of shipping returned wartime requisitioned ships to their owners. In the year the company went back to running its own ships, a Senior Managing Director in his mid-forties was elevated. The appointment appears to have entrusted the rebuilding of the fleet after the fresh start to an executive who had handled operations under requisition.
Initiatives
Over 19 and a half years in office, he established the approach of a small company securing new vessel types ahead of others. He absorbed Kokoku Kisen in February 1954, then began building a fleet of specialized vessels by putting the tanker Fujikawa Maru into service in July 1957 and the ore carrier Fukukawa Maru in December 1960. In April 1964, in line with the shipping industry consolidation, the company merged with Iino Kisen and joined the six major groups. It completed its first full container ship in October 1968 and a car/bulk combination carrier the following month, and the commercialization of the dedicated car carrier, completed in July 1970 two months after he stepped down, grew out of this.
Career
Career
Kawasaki Kisen (K Line)
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1950 | Representative Director, President |
| 1969 | Stepped down as President |