Message from Top Management
March 28, 2024
The Kirin Group has continued to deliver joy to customers by using our technical strength centered on fermentation and biotechnology, assets passed down in the Group for more than a century; the quality and safety inherited throughout our long history; marketing capabilities in reaching customers; and our integrity in thoroughly implementing these capabilities.
Additionally, the Group is aiming to further apply the above assets, to create social and economic value with a strategy focused on social issues, and to become a global leader in CSV whose global significance is recognized.
Since joining Kirin Brewery’s Production & Quality Control Department at the Toride Brewery, I have worked together with front-line employees, in various situations working as one across the organization and company. My memories of implementing a new, unprecedented manufacturing method that did not use the second press in the development of Kirin Ichiban together with employees at the brewery through trial-and-error and of the joy experienced from growing the business together with energetic on-site employees as one team during my time at a subsidiary in Southeast Asia will never be forgotten, and they are great food for my soul.
I have been involved in the Health Science business since 2018. Just as the Group entered the Pharmaceuticals business 40 years ago using fermentation and biotechnology and grew it over the past 40 years, I have worked in the business with a strong sense of duty in fostering the Health Science business as our Group’s third pillar.
No matter the business, I have always valued the joy of manufacturing. My purpose as a member of a manufacturing company is to bring joy to customers through new challenges, and I believe this is the starting point of our Group’s origin.
My strength lies in my management style, which involves seriously tackling issues we face one at a time and places importance of people working at the front lines on-site. You could say this a bit plodding, but I will continue to manage in this way and deepen dialogue with all of our stakeholders as I work to resolve issues.
As the environment surrounding society greatly changes, so does the human capital necessary for implementing management strategies. With the transformation of our Group’s business portfolio, we must also transform the Health Science business, our new core business, as well as the existing Food & Beverages and Pharmaceuticals domains and take on challenges in new domains. This is why it is essential for each and every one of us to improve our expertise and to demonstrate our strengths as professionals in each domain. Improving our capabilities will increase the quality of brand investments, leading to corporate growth. My duty is to reacknowledge that human capital is the true source of our value creation and competitive advantage and to maximize its value.
The fact that the Group was able to achieve record profits in FY2023 in the midst of a challenging business environment is a testament to the success of our business portfolio management. However, in order to become one of the world's leading CSV companies, we need to raise the speed of our execution to an even higher level. In FY2024, we aim to achieve profitable growth as a group by further strengthening our investment in our brand and human resources, and by balancing our existing businesses in Food & Beverages and Pharmaceuticals with our new business in Health Science.
I will lead this Group and give my best, so that we can meet the expectations of all stakeholders. We look forward to your continued support.
