Hitachi Europe Announces the Appointment of Kazuo Abe as New Managing Director

LONDON, August 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), today announced that Mr Kazuo Abe has been appointed as Managing Director of Hitachi Europe. Mr Abe currently serves as Deputy General Manager, Account Management Strategy Division & Deputy General Manager, Regional Strategies Division, Corporate Sales & Marketing Group in Hitachi, Ltd., and succeeds Mr Kiyoshi Yamamoto who has been appointed Senior Project Manager, Urban & Energy Solutions Division, Infrastructure Systems Company, Infrastructure Systems Group in Hitachi, Ltd. The new appointment will be effective on 1 October, 2014.

Since Mr Kazuo Abe joined Hitachi in 1984, he has held various supervisory and senior management positions, particularly in the International Strategy, Social Infrastructure & Industrial Systems and Rail Systems businesses. He has led Hitachi's growth globally though the establishment of regional headquarters in Europe, Asia and China. Furthermore, he has contributed to establish Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. and promoted key alliances with major partners. Mr Abe has also spent time in global marketing operations in the Middle East, as well as Africa and Russia & CIS.  

During the past two years as Managing Director of Hitachi Europe, Mr Yamamoto oversaw some of Hitachi's most prominent mergers and acquisitions to expand the global business, including the acquisition of Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd. in November 2012, The Railway Engineering Company Ltd. in December 2012 and Valcom S.r.l. in April 2014. He also helped to create a consolidated management organisation that operates as a shared service for Group Companies in Europe.

Hitachi is currently implementing policies aimed at the global rollout of its Social Innovation Business. As part of its 2015 Mid-term Management Plan, Hitachi has set a goal of increasing its ratio of overseas sales to over 50% and service revenues to over 40% by FY2015. Mr Abe will take a leading role in the business operations for Hitachi Europe, as well as developing a corporate business strategy to help drive this growth. He will also have a key focus on aligning Hitachi Group Companies in Europe and the promotion of Hitachi's Smart Transformation Project to achieve cost reductions and cash generation.

Mr Abe said, "I am excited and honoured to take on my new role as Managing Director of Hitachi Europe. Europe is one of Hitachi's key markets and we are continuously growing our operations to achieve further growth and become a global major player. We have some challenging targets to meet, but with my experiences in developing global strategy and operation, I am looking forward to working with our skilled European team."

About Hitachi Europe Ltd. 

Hitachi Europe Ltd., headquartered in Maidenhead, UK, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of information & telecommunication systems; power and industrial systems; rail systems; digital media and consumer products; industrial components and equipment; air conditioning; manufacturing systems; and procurement, with operations throughout 12 countries across EMEA. Hitachi Europe also has three Research and Development Laboratories. For more information, visit http://www.hitachi.eu. For more information on other Hitachi Group companies in Europe, please visit http://www.hitachi.eu/network/index.html.

About Hitachi, Ltd. 

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2013 (ended March 31, 2014) totaled 9,616 billion yen ($93.4 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, power systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Contacts:
UK: Yuki Maeda
Hitachi Europe Ltd.
+44-1628-585714
yuki.maeda@hitachi-eu.com