Katsutoshi Tsuru
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
After graduating from Kyoto Imperial University in 1930, he joined Tokyo Gas in April of that year. He left in October 1943, served as Managing Director of Kanto Tar Products from December 1948 and Senior Managing Director from August 1951, and returned to Tokyo Gas as a Director in February 1954. He concurrently served as president of Kanto Tar Products from January 1956 and of Tokyo Coke from August 1958, and became Executive Vice President in November 1967. Running affiliated companies forms the core of his career.
Selection
In August 1972 he succeeded Hiroshi Anzai as President. Anzai moved to Chairman the same month; Tsuru had been Executive Vice President for four years and nine months. In June 1972, two months before he took office, Tokyo Gas began work to raise the calorific value of its gas from 5,000 kcal to 11,000 kcal. The process of carrying the LNG first received in 1969 all the way to customers' gas appliances got under way in the same year as the change of president.
Initiatives
His tenure coincided with the launch of the calorific value conversion. In this process, employees visited gas appliances across the Tokyo metropolitan area one by one to adjust them, a design that relied on the company's own staff rather than outside contractors. Procurement and receiving facilities also expanded: LNG imports from Brunei began in January 1973, and the Sodegaura LNG terminal started operation in February of that year. Feedstock sourcing, previously Alaska alone, gained a second country.
Career
Career
Tokyo Gas
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1930 | Joined |
| Feb 1954 | Director |
| Nov 1967 | Executive Vice President |
| Aug 1972 | President |
| Jan 1976 | Stepped down as President |