Denso Chairman Will Retire in June

Nobuaki Katoh, a longtime Denso Corp. executive and the company’s current chairman, plans to retire in June.

Katoh, who joined Denso in 1971, was appointed CEO in 2008 then chairman in 2015. He’s credited with leading the company through the global recession and expanding its worldwide business. Katoh also helped Denso recover from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011.

A new chairman has not been named. Koji Arima, who succeeded Katoh as CEO in 2015, will continue in that role. Denso, which is partially owned by Toyota Motor Corp., also announced several other executive changes:

Koji Kobayashi, Denso vice chairman, is resigning from the board to become one of six executive vice presidents at Toyota. Kobayashi will serve as Toyota’s chief financial officer.

Toshiyuki Kato is promoted from being a senior executive director to an executive vice president. In his new position, Kato will coordinate the Denso’s relationship with other Toyota Group companies.

Three other senior executive directors are resigning and will be succeeded by current executive directors. Kazuaki Fujitani will oversee the sales and marketing; Yoshitaka Kajita will lead Denso's China operations; and Yukihiro Shinohara oversee the company’s electrification systems business. Six new executive directors also have been appointed.