Shiseido Co. said Thursday it will promote a senior executive officer in charge of its Chinese business to president in January as the Japanese cosmetics maker looks to his skills to manage diverse employees to boost global sales.
Kentaro Fujiwara, 55, will also assume the role of chief operating officer. Current President Masahiko Uotani, 68, will become chairman while continuing to serve as CEO, the company said. The personnel change is effective on Jan. 1.
Fujiwara has a wealth of experience in the overseas business, working in Germany and France and serving as president of the company's South Korean unit. He became China region CEO in 2018 before assuming the senior executive officer role in 2020.
In China, he has managed about 10,000 employees and boosted the company's performance through introducing new sales strategies such as online counseling and live e-commerce. That was even before Japan and other regions adopted such measures, Shiseido said.
"I have little experience in the Japanese operations, but I want to identify its challenges from the perspective of the overseas business and put it on a growth track," Fujiwara said at a press conference.
Uotani, who also attended the press conference, said he expects Fujiwara to help unify Shiseido's employees at home and abroad.
