Kawasaki Heavy appoints Kanehana as president

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday it will promote Senior Vice President Yoshinori Kanehana to president in late June, replacing Shigeru Murayama, who will become chairman, in a bid to revamp its management system amid large losses in shipbuilding business.

The Japanese leading maker of ships, train cars and other heavy machinery dismissed then President Satoshi Hasegawa in June 2013 in conjunction with his push for merger negotiations with rival Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. without internal consultation.

Kawasaki Heavy incurred a loss of 22.1 billion yen ($197 million) in the October to December quarter in a Brazilian shipbuilding business, leading to the demotion of Senior Vice President Akio Murakami, who was in charge of the business, to director without the right to represent the company.

Kanehana, a 62-year-old Hyogo Prefecture native, joined Kawasaki Heavy in 1976 after graduating from Osaka University. He will become vice president on April 1 before promotion to president.
Source: Kyodo