Otosaburo Kato
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, in 1904, he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Hosei University in 1927 and became a director of Chubu Haiden in May 1947 and its Managing Director in May 1950. When Chubu Electric Power was launched in 1951 he was a director (riji), becoming a Director in May 1952 and Managing Director in May 1954. He rose to Executive Vice President in April 1961 and from the following month also served as President of Toho Sekiyu.
Selection
In May 1969 he succeeded Michio Yokoyama as President, with Yokoyama moving to Chairman at the same time. He had been Executive Vice President for eight years; the other Executive Vice Presidents in the same executive listing were Takeo Kawachi (appointed May 1966) and Tetsuro Nakagawa (appointed May 1969), so Kato had the longest tenure in that rank. Counting from 1947, when he was a director of Chubu Haiden, he had 22 years as an executive, and was promoted from the top of the internal hierarchy.
Initiatives
In June 1971 he also became chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies, dealing with rate and fuel issues as the industry's representative. In March 1976 Unit 1 of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station entered commercial operation, the first time Chubu Electric Power added nuclear power to its generation mix. The first oil crisis came midway through his tenure. Ordinary profit fell from ¥23.6 billion the previous year to ¥0.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1974, recovering to revenue of ¥551.4 billion and ordinary profit of ¥19.2 billion in the following FY ended March 1975.
Career
Career
Chubu Electric Power
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1961 | Executive Vice President |
| 1969 | President |
| Jun 1977 | Stepped down as President |