THE WHAT? Kao has announced a series of changes to its leadership, effective January 1, 2023. The Japanese FMCG manufacturer is promoting Masakazu Negoro to Senior Managing Executive Officer, responsible for management finance and Toru Nishiguchi to Senior Managing Executive Officer, Vice President Consumer Products Global.

THE DETAILS Hideki Mamiya is also stepping up to Senior Executive Officer, Senior Vice President Human Capital Strategy, Global. Meanwhile, newly elected executive officers include Yosuke Maezawa, who will take on the role of President, Cosmetics Business, Yoshio Nakao, Naoshi Nakamoto, Mark Johnson, who has been named President of Americas and EMEA of Cosmetics Business and Akiko Hasegawa.

Yasushi Wada, Hideichi Nitta and Atsushi Koizumi are retiring from their Executive Officer roles.

THE WHY? Kao didn’t provide a justification for the changes merely underlining Yosuke Maezawa’s extensive experience within its organisation, having joined Kanebo in 1986 and worked his way up the ranks, occupying numerous senior roles along the way.