Tadashi Yanai, Fast Retailing Co.’s 70-year-old billionaire founder, said he would prefer to be succeeded by a woman, adding it would be better for Asia’s largest retailer.
"The job is more suitable for a woman," Yanai, the chief executive officer behind clothing giant Uniqlo, said in an interview. "They are persevering, detail oriented and have an aesthetic sense."
As Yanai gets older, he's been asked more frequently about succession at the company, which he built from his father's tailor shop into a global brand. A possible candidate could be Maki Akaida, who was appointed this year to run Uniqlo's Japan operations — the company's most profitable unit. Yanai said he wants to increase the ratio of female senior executives to more than half the total. Fast Retailing currently has six women in such roles, after hitting its goal last year of having more than 30 percent of women in management positions.