Eisaku Ito Appointed CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Succeeds Seiji Izumisawa
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has announced executive-level personnel changes, effective March 31 and April 1, 2025, and nominated Members of the Board to be proposed at the 100th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for June 27, 2025. Additionally, MHI appointed its current Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Eisaku Ito, as President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 1, 2025. He will succeed Seiji Izumisawa, who will transition to the role of Chairman of the Board after serving as MHI's top executive for six years. These appointments were approved at a meeting of MHI's Board of Directors in Tokyo.
Mr. Ito will assume the role of President & CEO after serving as Executive Vice President, CTO, and Head of the Technology Strategy Office since April 2020, his latest position in a career that spans over 30 years at MHI. In a previous role, Mr. Ito promoted the development of a wide range of our company's technologies and businesses, the improvement of business processes, and the marketing of new products and services. He also played an important role in responding to the rapid evolution of digitalization and AI technologies by establishing the Digital Innovation Headquarters. Going forward under Mr. Ito's leadership, we will work to achieve further growth as one of Japan's leading manufacturing and technology companies.
During his tenure as President & CEO, Mr. Izumisawa oversaw the restructuring of the thermal power business, the termination of the SpaceJet development, and the divestment of the machine tools business. In FY2023, the final year of the 2021 Medium-Term Business Plan, the company achieved record highs in order intake, revenue, and profit, significantly improving its margins. Additionally, Mr. Izumisawa focused on strengthening future growth areas, including businesses related to the Energy Transition.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Izumisawa said, "MHI Group is now working to strengthen our portfolio of businesses by leveraging the business and financial foundations we have built over many years, while contributing to societal challenges such as the realization of Carbon Neutrality and addressing national security concerns. We must steadily develop our growing core businesses-Gas Turbine Combined Cycle (GTCC), Nuclear Power, and Defense-while striving to commercialize our future growth areas. For this reason, MHI now requires a leader with knowledge of a wide range of businesses and technologies, fairness, a sense of responsibility to resolve a variety issues, and a determination to take on the challenges of the future. Mr. Ito has deep insight into MHI's core businesses, including gas turbines, and a wide range of technical expertise. Moreover, he has succeeded in resolving many product development issues in the past, and I am confident that his tenacity and leadership will enable MHI to achieve further growth".
Mr. Ito commented, "The reforms enacted by Mr. Izumizawa have further advanced MHI Group's position as a global company. Following the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, both revenue and profit are now at record highs. As we continue to receive strong orders, we will work to build a robust business structure and value chain to reliably deliver products and solutions to our customers. We will also focus on developing diverse talent and technological infrastructure while promoting digitalization and automation. I am honored to be able to take on the challenge of leading MHI and of joining our Group employees in efforts to optimize the portfolio of businesses, execute our growth strategy, and fulfill our commitments to solve long-term societal challenges-including through MISSION NET ZERO (2040 Carbon Neutrality Declaration)-all with the goal of achieving further growth".