Hitachi America, Ltd. Announces the Appointment of Mr. Masaya Watanabe as President and CEO
Tarrytown, NY, September 5, 2014 – Hitachi America, Ltd. today announced the appointment of Mr. Masaya Watanabe as President and CEO. Mr. Watanabe succeeds Mr. Kenji Nakamura, who has been appointed Advisor to CMO, Corporate Sales & Marketing Group of Hitachi, Ltd. The appointments will be effective October 1, 2014.
Mr. Watanabe currently serves as Vice President and Executive Officer of Hitachi, Ltd., in charge of Global Service Business Promotion of Information & Telecommunication Systems Business, Chairman & CEO of Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Systems Global Holding Corporation, and Chairman of Hitachi Consulting Corporation. Mr. Watanabe began his assignment in the U.S. in April 2014 to have closer interaction with customers and society in this market.
In addition to the current role, Mr. Watanabe will also serve as President and CEO, Hitachi America, Ltd., which is the regional headquarters of the Hitachi Group in North America. This expanded role will enable Mr. Watanabe to more effectively oversee Hitachi’s operations in this market from his base in the U.S.
Mr. Watanabe will play a key role in driving Hitachi’s increasingly pro-active strategy to grow its business in the region. He will also be responsible for accelerating increased collaborative activities among Hitachi’s many businesses located in the U.S. Mr. Watanabe said, “I am honored to take on this new role and work more directly with customers and colleagues in this market. Hitachi has identified North America as strategic growth region and the company is eager to increase deployment of its Social Innovation Business here as well as globally. We are implementing an aggressive growth strategy to increase sales in markets outside of Japan. I am looking forward to leveraging the vast expertise within the Hitachi Group to bring innovative technologies to this market.”