Fixed-line carrier Japan Telecom Co. plans to appoint Hideki Kurashige, a former vice president of IBM Japan Ltd., as its new president, industry sources said Tuesday.
Kurashige, 61, currently serves as chairman of IBM Business Consulting Services. He is expected to assume the presidency of Japan Telecom in February, replacing Ronald LeMay, who became president in November.
A graduate of Waseda University, Kurashige joined IBM Japan in 1966 and became its vice president in 1993.
He subsequently headed consulting operations at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and took his current position at IBM Corp.'s consulting arm here in October 2002.
Japan Telecom appointed LeMay in November, shortly after U.S. investment fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC completed its purchase of the firm from Japan Telecom Holdings Co.
LeMay, a former president and chief operating officer of U.S. telecom Sprint Corp., was widely viewed as a stand-in chief until the appointment of a Japanese successor. He will remain on the board.
Japan Telecom, a business partner of IBM Japan, targeted Kurashige for his expertise in corporate management and his experience at IBM's Japan unit, the sources said.