Nidec, Kyoto-based manufacturer of electric motors, has a new president. Hiroyuki Yoshimoto becomes the first person to hold the post after the company’s founder Shigenobu Nagamori. He will remain at the helm of the company, together with the new president and COO Yoshimoto, as chairman and CEO. “I have no intention of resigning yet – commented Nagamori – but the time has come to share the responsibility of managing a company group that now operates in 43 countries and continues to grow. At first, Yoshimoto will take over about 30% of my responsibilities. 10% of my time will go towards chairing the board of Kyoto Gakuen Educational Foundation that manages Kyoto Gakuen University, where I will develop the next generation of talented engineers, but I will dedicate the remaining 90% to Nidec. As a result the ‘management power’ of the company will actually increase to 120% (90% + 30%). Yoshimoto is young and ambitious and his management style and methods are similar to my own. Shortly after joining Nidec he managed to turn around Nidec Tosok, a struggling subsidiary, in a single year and significantly boost the growth of Nidec Corporation’s automotive business in under two years”. Yoshimoto outlined his ambition to further boost the growth of the company group by focusing on post-merger integration. “I do not intend to change a winning formula – he said -. On the contrary, I will stay true to Nagamori’s methods and thoroughly infuse the Nidec spirit into the newly acquired businesses through hands-on management.” Nidec was founded in 1973: the company’s success has among its main steps the commercialization of a direct-drive spindle motor for HDDs using brushless DC motor technology and the manufacturing of small precision motors. Besides, Nidec launched into a global effort to diversify and grow its business through a series of nearly 60 mergers and acquisitions. Currently, the Nidec group employs over 100,000 people in more than 40 countries and manufactures motors and related products for a wide range of applications including IT equipment, home appliances, electric vehicles and other automobiles, robots, drones, industrial facilities and more.
