(Japanese Site)
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March 31, 1998 (TOKYO) -- Fujitsu Ltd. said President Tadashi
Sekizawa will step down and be replaced by executive vice
president in charge of software/services, Naoyuki Akikusa.
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Sekizawa will become chairman and director without authority to
represent the company. The reshuffle will be officially decided
at a meeting of the board of directors to be held after the
annual shareholders meeting in late June, Fujitsu said.
During a recent press conference held by Sekizawa and Akikusa at
Fujitsu's head office in Tokyo, reporters' questions centered on
why Japan's leading domestic computer maker decided to change its
president.
"The computer industry and its surrounding environment are
undergoing drastic changes, and there is the need for our company
to respond to such changes," Sekizawa said. "Under these
circumstances, there is nothing surprising about passing my job
on to a new president."
Asked about why this time was chosen to reshuffle top management,
Sekizawa said he felt that his wisdom and power to see into the
future as the head of the company has declined.
Looking back on his achievements as company president, Sekizawa
said, "I have shifted the focus of our business from computer
mainframes to client/server systems and software and services in
response to the trends of the times, and put our business on the
right track."
"Our company's business structure and strategy are not adequate
for doing business globally, and have yet to catch up with
ongoing changes in the world," he added. "Moreover, we need to
reinforce our business foundation by improving our company's
financial basis and by forming tie-ups with ICL of the UK and
Amdahl Corp. of the United States. These are tasks to be carried
out by the new management, led by the next president, as well as
our company as a whole."
Akikusa pushed the company's shift away from hardware, under the
leadership of Sekizawa.
At the news conference, he was asked to comment as the incoming
president. He was humble, saying, "During my long career here,
there was hardly an occasion when I was able to bring a project
to a success."
The software/service business, with which Akikusa was charged for
a long time, is becoming the core of Fujitsu's information-
related businesses. But Akikusa did not give high marks to the
business, saying, "It is still too early to say that the
software/service business is a success."
Referring to his future policy, Akikusa said, "I will review the
way we train our personnel and revise our business structure to
cut costs and improve profits. I will do this not only in the
service department, but also in the computer hardware and
semiconductor departments, as well as all departments involving
telecommunications."
"I am not well versed in microchips and telecommunications. But I
am not concerned about that. This lack of knowledge may serve as
a positive factor in carrying out drastic reforms," Akikusa said.
Sekizawa said he is willing to become chairman without the right
to represent the company as one of the steps to reform the board
of directors and speed up its decision-making.
The role of the supreme decision-making body comprising the
president and senior executive vice presidents with the rights to
represent the company, and the role of the board of directors,
will be defined more clearly in the future.
More information is available in English at: http://www.fujitsu.co.jp/hypertext/news/1998/Mar/26-
e.html
(Hi-Tech News Center)
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