Shiseido to appoint new president as Uotani steps back

Japanese beauty giant Shiseido is looking to overhaul its management team as it moves closer to its ordinary general meeting of shareholders, scheduled to be held in March 2023.

The company already notified its shareholders of a new management structure, decided by its board of directors during an annual meeting.

From January 1, 2023, the company's representative director, president and CEO, Masahiko Uotani, will take on the title of representative director, chairman and CEO.

Meanwhile, Kentaro Fujiwara, Shiseido’s senior executive officer, China region CEO, will now be president and COO.

In the regulatory filing, the group said Fujiwara will also become a representative director following the approval of his election at the upcoming shareholders meeting in March.

Fujiwara’s promotion comes after he joined the company in 1991 and hints at Shiseido’s potential intention to further its presence in China.

Over his 31 years at the company, he has worked his way up through varying degrees of management roles, including director, president of Shiseido Korea and vice president, corporate strategy department group leaders, digital strategy of the company.

Shiseido also revealed a number of nominations as part of Uotani’s succession plan, which WWD reported could see him step away from the company within the next two years.

This further included its senior executive officer, Yukari Suzuki, to become a director and the appointment of Yoshihiko Hatanaka as an external director.