Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.'s board of directors has "informally decided" on major changes in its senior management team in 2011. The changes will be formally approved after the general meeting of shareholders on June 29, 2011.
Five executives received promotions.
1. Tadanobu Nagumo, president and representative director, will be promoted to chairman, CEO and representative director.
2. Hikomitsu Noji, director and senior managing corporate officer and president of the Yokohama Tire Group, will be promoted to president and representative director. He wil remain president of Tire Group.
3. Tooru Kobayashi, director and senior managing corporate officer, will be promoted to director and vice president.
4. Kinya Kawakami, director and corporate officer, will be promoted to director and managing corporate officer.
5. Hirohiko Takaoka, corporate officer, will be promoted to managing corporate officer.
The board also made a number of other appointments (with their previous titles in parentheses).
New directors: Yuji Goto (managing corporate officer) and Takao Oishi (managing corporate officer).
New corporate auditors: Takashi Fukui, senior corporate auditor (director and managing corporate officer); Yoshiki Sato (president of Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.); and Go Kajitani (senior partner of Kajitani Law Offices).
New corporate officers: Yasushi Kikuchi and Kazuya Nakazawa.
In addition, six executives have retired: Toshihiko Suzuki (director), Takashi Fukui (director), Michio Yuge (corporate auditor), Junnosuke Furukawa (corporate auditor), Yuzuru Fujita (corporate auditor) and Tatsuya Murata (corporate officer).
Four of the six -- Suzuki, Fukui, Yuge and Murata -- have accepted other positions with the company.
