Board Members and Officers

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Board Member

Mr. Naohiro Takao, since joining the Company, has gained extensive business experience and deep insight into group management through his involvement in manufacturing, sales, and overseas business, etc.

Since being appointed President in April 2016, he has led business strategies for the entire group, including the establishment of the G-TEKT TOKYO LAB, which is a key base for technological developments in anticipation of the spread of EVs, as well as overseas expansion. In addition, he has strongly driven the business of the Company as the top manager, including promptly responding to changes in circumstances that were caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus in 2020.

Based on the above, we have determined that he has the knowledge required for the management of the Company, is suitable for supervising the Company in general, and therefore we have therefore nominated him again as a candidate for Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Board Member

Mr. Hiroshi Seko, since joining the Company, has gained extensive business experience and deep insight into group management through his involvement in technology and overseas business, etc.

Since being appointed as Board Member in 2020, he has played a leading role in improving technological development and profitability based on trends in state-of-the-art technology in the European automobile market.

Based on the above, we have determined that he is suitable for leading the Company’s sustainable growth as well as carrying out supervision as he has the experience and knowledge required for the management of business at the Company, in the technology field in particular, and we have therefore nominated him again as a candidate for Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Board Member

Mr. Fumihiko Hirotaki, since joining the Company, has gained extensive business experience and deep insight into group management through his involvement in sales and overseas business, etc.

Through his service as Sales Operations Deputy Director from 2015 and as Sales Operations Director since 2019, he has endeavored to maintain and expand relationships with existing trading partners as well as to achieve new orders from a plurality of trading partners both inside and outside of Japan, and has contributed to a significant expansion in sales.

Based on the above, we have determined that he is suitable for leading the Company’s sustainable growth as well as carrying out supervision as he has the experience and knowledge required for the management of business at the Company, in the sales field in particular, and we have therefore nominated him again as a candidate for Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Board Member

Mr. Akira Kakizaki, since joining the company, has extensive business experience and deep knowledge in the areas of technology and development.

As Engineering Operations Deputy Director from the time of his appointment as Executive Officer, he has worked on reforming the structure of Engineering Operations with the aim of recovering profitability in the stamping die engineering area in particular, and has led the transformation of engineering operations, including the development of digital tools and the shift to cloud computing. He was in charge of overseeing digital transformation in the company-wide DX project launched in 2021, with a focus on the quality and cost areas, and was instrumental in the penetration of DX.

Based on the above, we have determined that he is suitable for leading and supervising the company’s transformation, and we have therefore nominated him again as a candidate for Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Outside Board Member and overview of expected roles

Mr. Keiji Kasamatsu has extensive and wide-ranging knowledge of business relationships and commercial practices within the automotive industry, based on his many years of experience at a general trading company engaged mainly in transactions involving steel plates for automobiles. He is also expected to provide a high level of insight into various management decisions based on his experience in overseas business and corporate management.

We have nominated him as candidate for Outside Board Member in the expectation that he will provide advice on management decisions from a high-level perspective backed by his expertise and contribute to the supervision of management in order for the Company to achieve sustainable growth in the ever-changing automobile industry.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Outside Board Member and overview of expected roles

Although Ms. Rieko Inaba has not been directly involved in the company management in the past except as an Outside Board Member, she has been engaged in research centered on information technology, language, and communication as a researcher at a higher education institution, and has engaged in a broad range of research activities, including the writing of academic papers and books. She has further been involved in educational activities including taking charge of training in her field and college lectures, and has gained advanced knowledge as a researcher and educator.

Based on such a background, we expect that she will give useful opinions and advice, etc., on management-related matters of the Company from an objective perspective, and will contribute to the monitoring of the Company in general, and therefore we have nominated her as a candidate for Outside Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Since joining the Company, Kesao Tamura has gained experience in the finance department, manufacturing department, overseas assignments, etc. Also, as General Manager of the Overseas Business Division, he was responsible for overseeing the Company’s overseas business operations. He was appointed as Auditor & Supervisory Board Member in 2015 and currently oversees the Company’s management. We have determined that he is capable of conducting audits of the Company’s overall corporate management based on the Company’s actual conditions as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member originating from within the Company, and therefore we have nominated him as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Since joining the Company, Mr. Yoshiaki Kawakubo has been engaged in work related to overseas operations for many years, providing overseas support at financial institutions and working at two local entities in Europe and the United States, leveraging these experiences in his work. During his overseas assignment, he gained abundant experience mainly in finance and business management at subsidiaries. After returning to Japan, he deepened his knowledge of the Group’s management through supervision and support of overseas business operations as General Manager of the Overseas Business Division. In his work with our audit unit, he has also overseen audit operations for the entire Group. Based on this career experience, we have determined that he is capable of conducting audits of the Company’s overall corporate management based on the Company’s actual conditions as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member originating from within the Company, and therefore we have nominated him as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Having many years of extensive business experience in national taxation and professional knowledge as a tax accountant, we have determined that he is capable of auditing the Company’s overall corporate management from an objective perspective, and therefore we have nominated him as a candidate for Independent Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member.

Reasons for nomination as candidate for Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Having extensive insight and experience as a lawyer, Independent Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, and Outside Board Member at other companies, we believe that he is capable of auditing the Company’s overall corporate management from an objective perspective, and therefore we have nominated him as a candidate for Independent Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member.