Asahi Kasei appoints Kudo president

As of April 2022, Koshiro Kudo will assume the role of president of Asahi Kasei, with current president Hideki Kobori becoming the company’s chairman. Asahi Kasei states that with 40 years of corporate experience, the new president will “lead the company into a new century of its history” – the Japanese firm celebrates its 100th anniversary in May.

Kudo, aged 62, joined Ashai Kasei in 1982, shortly after he graduated from Keio University in Tokyo. After holding various positions, Kudo became head of the Roica business unit in May 2008. He took on the position of president of the company’s Fibers & Textiles Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in 2017 and took on additional responsibilities to years later when he became president of the Performance Products SBU, a role which included synthetic rubber in its remit. Kudo also helped establish a new department for mobility materials, which launched in April 2020 and focuses on products for the automotive sector.

Asahi Kasei says its new president of will “continue the successful strategic work” of his predecessor Hideki Kobori, who “has significantly shaped the group since 2016.” The company considers Kobori’s “steady management in the Corona pandemic” as well as the focus placed upon on sustainability, carbon neutrality and biobased productions processes to be milestones of his tenure as president.