Kosuke Okada
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Mie in 1907, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in March 1931 and joined Dai-Ichi Bank in April that year. He moved to Kawasaki Steel in October 1953, became its Executive Vice President in June 1964, and served as President of Kawatetsu Shoji from November 1972. He joined Kawasaki Kisen as an adviser in April 1976 and became President two months later. His career ran solely through banking, steel and trading, without any hands-on shipping experience.
Selection
In June 1976 he succeeded Mamoru Adachi as President. The fiscal year ended March 1976, closed three months before he took office, showed an ordinary loss of ¥8.9 billion on revenue of ¥239.0 billion, a fall from ordinary profit of ¥9.8 billion the previous year. At the end of March 1975 the major shareholders were Kawasaki Heavy Industries at 7.37%, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank at 6.12% and Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance at 6.00%, and the leading bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, had been formed in a 1971 merger involving Okada's former bank. The appointment appears to have brought in someone from outside shipping to restore profitability.
Initiatives
Ordinary losses continued after he took office, at ¥4.3 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1977, ¥3.2 billion in the FY ended March 1978 and ¥2.8 billion in the FY ended March 1979. The losses narrowed every year, however, and the company maintained its scale with revenue of ¥256.2 billion, ¥256.4 billion and ¥220.4 billion. In the FY ended March 1980 it recovered to revenue of ¥293.3 billion and ordinary profit of ¥4.5 billion. Among the executives, Yasohiko Hashimoto, who had moved over from a directorship at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, was promoted to Senior Managing Director in June 1978.
Career
Career
Kawasaki Kisen (K Line)
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Representative Director, President |
| 1979 | Stepped down as President |