Asics Corp. said it plans to promote Yasuhito Hirota to president and COO.
The move becomes effective March 29. Motoi Oyama, chairman and CEO, will relinquish the title of president.
Oyama, who became president of Asics in 2008, and was appointed chairman of the board in March 2017, said: “Approaching my eleventh year in the role, the decision to appoint a new president was taken in order to ensure that the group can advance as one towards the next stage of our medium-term strategy, the Asics Growth Plan (AGP) 2020.”
Regarding Hirota’s appointment, he added, “After becoming chairman of the board last year, I decided that this would be the correct time to hand over the role of president to Mr. Hirota, and let him oversee the practical management of the company.” In his continuing role as CEO, Mr. Oyama will carry on directing the operations of the group as a whole.
Hirota, who will assume an advisory role before his formal appointment as president on March 29, joins Asics from his previous position as representative director, member of the board, executive vice president, corporate functional officer and head of regional strategy for Japan with Mitsubishi Corporation, where he spent almost 38 years. On the subject of the announcement, he said: “It is a great honor for me to accept the position of president and COO with Asics Corporation. Working in conjunction with Mr. Oyama and the ASICS senior management team, I am ready to give my all to cement the continuing global progress of the Asics Group.”
Incoming President and COO, Representative Director Yasuhito Hirota, Profile:
Born: November 5, 1956 (age 61)
Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Education: Waseda University School of Political Science and Economics
(graduated March 1980)
Career:
Apr. 1980Joined Mitsubishi Corporation
Apr. 2010 Senior Vice President
General Manager, Corporate Administration Dept.
Apr. 2011 Senior Vice President
Senior Assistant to Senior Executive Vice President
Corporate Functional Officer, Corporate Communications, Corporate
Administration, CSR & Environmental Affairs, Legal, Human Resources
General Manager, Corporate Administration Dept.
Apr. 2014 Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Corporate Administration,
CSR & Environmental Affairs, Legal, Human Resources
Jun. 2014 Representative Director, Member of the Board
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Corporate Administration,
CSR & Environmental Affairs, Legal, Human Resources
Apr. 2016 Representative Director, Member of the Board
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Corporate Administration,
CSR & Environmental Affairs, Legal, Human Resources
Chief Compliance Officer
Apr. 2017 Representative Director, Member of the Board
Executive Vice President
Corporate Functional Officer, Regional Strategy for Japan
General Manager, Kansai Branch
Jan. 2018 Joined ASICS Corporation
Senior Advisor to the Board
Photo courtesy Asics
