Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. will name Vice President Kosei Shindo as president on April 1, replacing Hiroshi Tomono, the company said on Thursday.
After performing favorably since the merger of Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. (NSSMC) in October 2012, the company now aims to promote its overseas operations under new leadership, according to company sources.
Shindo, 64, joined Nippon Steel in 1973 and assumed his current post in October 2012 to deal with the structural integration of the two major steel makers.
Tomono, 68, will become vice chairman, while Shoji Muneoka, 67, will remain chairman.
At the time of the merger, the two companies installed a leadership to reflect a balance between the two, with Muneoka from Nippon Steel assuming the chairmanship and Tomono from Sumitomo Metal the presidency.
The promotion of Shindo, who is well versed in overall corporate management and planning, indicates that the second-largest steel maker in the world in terms of crude steel production is focusing more on growth.
NSSMC has some 83,000 employees. Its consolidated sales for the business year through last March came to ¥4.39 trillion.