Kiyoshi Kumagai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Hyogo in 1918, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Kyoto Imperial University in 1941 and joined Kawasaki Kisen in January 1942. He became general manager of the liner department, which handled scheduled routes, in December 1965, a Director in May 1967, a Managing Director in November 1970 and Senior Managing Director in June 1976. It took him 25 years from joining to become a Director; he was a career employee who long handled liner sales.
Selection
His predecessor, Kosuke Okada, had been brought in as President from Dai-Ichi Bank by way of Kawasaki Steel and Kawatetsu Shoji, and Kumagai, a career employee, succeeded him. Okada was still President as of June 1978, so the handover appears to have taken place in 1979. Results turned around around the time of the change: after three consecutive years of ordinary losses, the company returned to an ordinary profit of ¥4.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1980, rising to ¥5.2 billion in the FY ended March 1981 and ¥5.6 billion in the FY ended March 1982. The change appears to have handed the company, once the outside President had restored profitability, to an internal executive who knew the liner business.
Initiatives
In January 1982 he moved head office functions to Tokyo. In August 1983 the company put into service the first LNG carrier operated by a Japanese shipping line, adding another vessel type to its tankers, ore carriers and car carriers. Results peaked with an ordinary profit of ¥5.6 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1982, then swung to an ordinary loss of ¥1.8 billion in the FY ended March 1983 and a profit of ¥0.7 billion in the FY ended March 1984. Revenue grew from ¥293.3 billion in the FY ended March 1980 to ¥352.6 billion in the FY ended March 1984.
Career
Career
Kawasaki Kisen (K Line)
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Representative Director, President |
| 1984 | Stepped down as President |