Panasonic Corp.¡¯s new President and Chief Executive Officer Yuki Kusumi is embarking on a two-year mission: churn out more batteries for Tesla Inc. and shake free billions of dollars to invest in new areas of growth by making the company more efficient.
He won¡¯t be doing that from the second-floor office used by the company¡¯s founder, a room overlooking a fountain and manicured lawn dotted with statues at Panasonic¡¯s Osaka headquarters. The 56-year-old, who rose through the engineering ranks, is shunning the space to work alongside staff.
Kusumi, who formally took the helm of the 103-year-old Japanese company on Thursday, says he¡¯s focused on improving efficiencies from the manufacturing floor up. That type of work can¡¯t be done locked away in the president¡¯s office, he said in an interview earlier this month. ¡°Those are the type of things I¡¯m out to change.¡±
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