What They Say
Nikkei reports that Japan Display Inc (JDI) will get a new American CEO, Scott Callon, from the firm’s main investor Ichigo Asset Management on the stepping down of current CEO Minoru Kikuoka.
Scott Callon has been the Chairman of Ichigo since October 2008. He is also the CEO of Ichigo Asset Management and one of the three judges for the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s annual Corporate Value Improvement Award, given to the top listed company in Japan. He previously worked at the Japan Development Bank, Banker’s Trust, and the UK Prudential Group, and was Managing Director & Head of Equities of Morgan Stanley Japan.
The arrangement is expected to allow Callon to take more leadership, speed up decision-making and accelerate the company’s shift away from smartphone-related products, company representatives said.
What We Think
The history of western leaders of Japanese companies has been marked by disputes and fall-outs, it seems to me. However Callon is clearly embedded in Japanese corporate culture. Apple has been widely reported as ‘pulling the strings’ in the deals to sort out Sharp and JDI. I assume it is by coincidence, but I heard a couple of days ago that my 20+ year contact at JDI in the US will be retiring in January. (BR)
