Hitachi America Ltd. announced the appointment of Masaya Watanabe as president and CEO. Watanabe succeeds Kenji Nakamura, who has been appointed advisor to CMO, Corporate Sales and Marketing Group of Hitachi Ltd. The appointments will be effective Oct. 1, 2014.
Watanabe currently serves as vice president and executive officer of Hitachi, Ltd., in charge of Global Service Business Promotion of Information and Telecommunication Systems Business, chairman and CEO of Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Systems Global Holding Corporation, and chairman of Hitachi Consulting Corporation. 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, 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 Watanabe to more effectively oversee Hitachi’s operations in this market from his base in the U.S.
Watanabe will play a key role in driving Hitachi’s increasingly pro-active strategy to grow its business in the region, the company said. He will also be responsible for accelerating increased collaborative activities among Hitachi’s many businesses located in the U.S.
“I am honored to take on this new role and work more directly with customers and colleagues in this market,” Watanabe said. “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.”