LONDON, August 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501),
today announced that Mr Kazuo Abe
has been appointed as Managing Director of Hitachi Europe. Mr Abe currently serves as
Deputy General Manager, Account Management Strategy Division &
Deputy General Manager, Regional Strategies Division, Corporate
Sales & Marketing Group in Hitachi, Ltd., and succeeds Mr
Kiyoshi Yamamoto who has been
appointed Senior Project Manager, Urban & Energy Solutions
Division, Infrastructure Systems Company, Infrastructure Systems
Group in Hitachi, Ltd. The new appointment will be effective on
1 October, 2014.
Since Mr Kazuo Abe joined Hitachi
in 1984, he has held various supervisory and senior management
positions, particularly in the International Strategy, Social
Infrastructure & Industrial Systems and Rail Systems
businesses. He has led Hitachi's growth globally though the
establishment of regional headquarters in Europe, Asia
and China. Furthermore, he has
contributed to establish Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. and promoted key
alliances with major partners. Mr Abe has also spent time in global
marketing operations in the Middle
East, as well as Africa and
Russia & CIS.
During the past two years as Managing Director of Hitachi Europe, Mr Yamamoto oversaw some of
Hitachi's most prominent mergers and acquisitions to expand the
global business, including the acquisition of Horizon Nuclear Power
Ltd. in November 2012, The Railway
Engineering Company Ltd. in December
2012 and Valcom S.r.l. in April
2014. He also helped to create a consolidated management
organisation that operates as a shared service for Group Companies
in Europe.
Hitachi is currently implementing policies aimed at the global
rollout of its Social Innovation Business. As part of its 2015
Mid-term Management Plan, Hitachi has set a goal of increasing its
ratio of overseas sales to over 50% and service revenues to over
40% by FY2015. Mr Abe will take a leading role in the business
operations for Hitachi Europe, as
well as developing a corporate business strategy to help drive this
growth. He will also have a key focus on aligning Hitachi Group
Companies in Europe and the
promotion of Hitachi's Smart Transformation Project to achieve cost
reductions and cash generation.
Mr Abe said, "I am excited and honoured to take on my new role
as Managing Director of Hitachi
Europe. Europe is one of Hitachi's key markets and we are
continuously growing our operations to achieve further growth and
become a global major player. We have some challenging targets to
meet, but with my experiences in developing global strategy and
operation, I am looking forward to working with our skilled
European team."
About Hitachi Europe Ltd.
Hitachi Europe Ltd., headquartered in Maidenhead, UK, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd.,
and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of information
& telecommunication systems; power and industrial systems; rail
systems; digital media and consumer products; industrial components
and equipment; air conditioning; manufacturing systems; and
procurement, with operations throughout 12 countries across EMEA.
Hitachi Europe also has three
Research and Development Laboratories. For more information, visit
http://www.hitachi.eu. For more information on other Hitachi Group
companies in Europe, please visit
http://www.hitachi.eu/network/index.html.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer
society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience
in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal
2013 (ended March 31, 2014) totaled
9,616 billion yen ($93.4 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than
ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes
infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication
systems, power systems, construction machinery, high functional
materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and
others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's
website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Contacts:
UK: Yuki Maeda
Hitachi Europe Ltd.
+44-1628-585714
yuki.maeda@hitachi-eu.com