Tetsuo Oba
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from the Faculty of Science and Engineering of Waseda University in 1930 and joined Japan Airlines in 1952. His career lay in flight operations and maintenance: he became Managing Director in October 1953, head of the Flight Operations and Maintenance Headquarters in October 1963 and head of the Flight Operations Headquarters in August 1965. He moved to All Nippon Airways as Executive Vice President in May 1967 and became President the following year, 1968.
Selection
He succeeded Isamu Morimura. A Japanese corporate directory lists Morimura as President and Oba as Executive Vice President in its 1968 edition, with the two switching in the 1969 edition. In the fiscal year ended March 1967, two years before his appointment, the company had an ordinary loss of ¥1.8 billion, as the costs of expanding its fleet and routes came first. The appointment brought in someone with 15 years in flight operations at a competitor as Executive Vice President and made him President within a year.
Initiatives
In May 1969 the company introduced the Boeing 737, a small jet following the 727, advancing the conversion of its route network to jets. Revenue grew from ¥21.3 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1968 to ¥39.4 billion in the FY ended March 1970, and ordinary profit from ¥1.2 billion to ¥3.0 billion. After about two years in office, in June 1970 he handed the presidency to Tokuji Wakasa, who had joined as Executive Vice President after serving as Vice-Minister of Transport.
Career
Career
Japan Airlines
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1952 | Joined |
| Oct 1953 | Managing Director |
| Oct 1963 | 航務整備本部長 (translation pending) |
| Aug 1965 | 航務本部長 (translation pending) |
All Nippon Airways
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1967 | Executive Vice President |
| 1968 | President |