Born in 1949, Masahiro Okafuji graduated from Tokyo University and joined the Japanese trading company Itochu Corp in 1974. He rose through the ranks at the firm, mainly in its textile operations, becoming an executive officer in 2002. In 2004 he was promoted to president of Itochu’s textile division and managing director of Itochu Corp. And two years later in 2006 he became Itochu Corp’s senior managing director. Masahiro helped to build up the business’s brand and helped the company to adapt to the changing consumer market.

In 2009 he took on the role of executive vice president which he held until 1 April 2010 when he was appointed as CEO and president of Itochu Corp at the age of 60.

As a trading company Itochu buys and sells companies all over the world and as CEO, Masahiro has wasted no time in making major purchases. In 2011 he drew up a plan to invest up to $10 billion in two years. Masahiro led the acquisition of Kwik Fit, the British tyre fitters, for £637 million in 2011 and pledged to invest in the business to help it expand and grow.

He launched a medium-term management plan called Brand-new Deal 2012. His leadership was rewarded by Itochu’s net income rising to a record level at 300.5 billion yen. Masahiro has invested heavily in China, which has boosted Itochu’s earnings. To try and reduce the risk of working in China, Masahiro has forged alliances with textile-based companies including the Shanshan Group and has entered into a capital alliance with Shandong Ruyi Science and Technology Group. Masahiro says: “Creating trustworthy partners is an absolute requirement.”

And he has continued efforts to reduce Itochu’s reliance on natural resource businesses by investing in a wider range of companies. Masahiro said: “Until around 2005, we had the same business drivers—natural resources, energy and machinery.Then we rebalanced our portfolio, shifting toward consumer-oriented non-resource businesses. Now, with much greater volatility in the resource and energy sector, we are reaping the benefits of that shift.”

In 2011 he brought in a series of management reforms and his business aims have been to strengthen Itochu’s front-line capabilities, to be proactive about finding new opportunities for business growth and to expand Itochu’s scale of operations. In a bid to use Itochu’s staff more effectively and improve their training and education, he created a new ICT & Machinery Company from the former Machinery Company and former ICT, Aerospace

& Electronics Company.

In the wake of Japan’s major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in March 2011, Masahiro reviewed the risk coverage at all Itochu’s operations and discovered around 110 billion yen in blind spots, which he immediately took action to cover, saying: “It is when things are going well, in particular, that you need to assess your immediate situation and ask what kind of risks you are exposed to.”

In June 2011 Masahiro masterminded one of the biggest investments in South America for a Japanese business by investing $1.5 billion in Colombian mining operations. He said: “Coal and other thermal-fuel-based power generation will continue to offset a major part of fuel needs in Japan following the disaster, and we expect to see steady demand.”

He also increased Itochu’s holdings in the Brazilian iron ore company Namisa as well as investing in South Africa’s Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum.

In January 2013 Masahiro announced a business alliance with Antares Managing Agency Limited (AMAL), which runs a syndicate at Lloyd’s of London in the UK. Under the alliance the companies will collaborate to underwrite reinsurance from the syndicate and jointly run an overseas insurance business.

In February 2013 he led the acquisition of Dole, a large fresh produce business. And in the same month he led the acquisitions of IT firms CSC ESI, based in Malaysia and CSC Automated, based in Singapore to expand Itochu’s IT service businesses in Asia.

In 2013 Masahiro described Itochu as entering a new era, with powerful partners and a healthy balance sheet to support future investments. He said: “Now we will strive to achieve truly dramatic growth.”

Masahiro is a down-to-earth hard-working boss who is not afraid to spend time at all levels of the company to understand what needs to be done.

His mantra is genbashugi, a Japanese term which means “getting down in the trenches”. He says:

“You learn more from one hour of seeing a market in action than from 100 hours of studying about it. Go to a department store or a retail shop, see for yourself what products people are lining up to buy, see what’s selling and how it’s selling and at what price. Look at the service, at the presentation, at the marketing. Executives need this understanding

as much as anyone.”

He is keen on training up his staff so they are expert in their field. He says:

“Just sending staff overseas to get an MBA is not an end in itself. They need to be able to understand and feel markets. You have to be more of a professional than the professionals

you are doing business with.”

Masahiro also places a high premium on good communication skills and sends Itochu’s new recruits on language courses, often to learn English. He does not shy away from challenges, including the demanding Chinese market, saying:

“You can’t be a contender unless you get into the ring.”

He has a proactive and go-getting leadership style. He says:

“After some years of conservative management, I became the CEO in 2010. I announced that we would proactively seek new opportunities. Although we have never stopped investing in worthwhile projects worldwide, now we are even better positioned to invest for long-term growth. Despite boosting investment to all-time-high levels, we recorded our second-lowest debt-to-equity ratio in many years.”

1. What new areas would you like Itochu to invest in and why?

2. How do you enable your executives to ‘get down in the trenches’ and have a practical experience and feel for markets?

3. Has the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 had any impact on the way you do business?

Itochu Corporation website

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