AGC President Hirai to leave post. The challenge of “ambidextrous management” entrusted to Murano, who takes office in January (BUSINESS INSIDER JAPAN)

AGC announced that Murano Tadayuki (村野忠之), a senior executive officer, would become president, executive officer and CEO effective 1 January 2027. He will become a representative director following resolutions by the general meeting of shareholders and the board of directors. Looking back on his term since 2021, President Hirai Yoshinori (平井良典) said that the strategic businesses had achieved a certain degree of growth, while efforts to stabilize the core businesses had been insufficient.

AGC has divided its businesses into traditional “core businesses” and “strategic businesses,” a new growth area centered on semiconductor materials, and has positioned the latter as a growth driver. Although the strategic businesses have grown to account for more than one-quarter of sales and more than half of operating profit, the core businesses remain vulnerable to market fluctuations and have not achieved the goal of establishing a stable, long-term earnings base.

Murano Tadayuki (村野忠之), who will become the next president, has broad experience. While citing technology, human resources and long-standing customer relationships as strengths, he also pointed out that the company is not making sufficient use of them. He said AGC would pursue productivity improvements across the company to strengthen its core businesses and would consider collaboration with other companies as an option. Regarding past business expansion, he acknowledged that some aspects of the review process had been insufficiently rigorous and said every business would thoroughly discuss whether it could “really continue winning.”