Leadership adjustments may lead to more profitable business for Seven & i Holdings.
The nomination committee for Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, has named Daniel Loeb as the company’s new president and Ryuichi Isaka as the company’s new chief executive.
According to a Nasdaq report, the appointment of a new president and chief officer follows a power struggle that erupted when the company’s longtime chairman and chief officer, Toshifumi Suzuki, quit, without warning. Ryuichi Isaka will succeed Suzuki and lead the holding company as chief officer. Isaka will be succeeding the company’s current president, Noritoshi Murata, who will also be resigning.
Nasdaq has reported that the nomination committee’s choice still needs approval from the board, and will also require shareholder backing. Some strategic challenges are expected to arise from the promotion of Isaka, due to the combining of the profitable 7-Eleven chain with less successful businesses such as Ito-Yokado.
Under Suzuki, the company acquired a number of other retailers, including Millennium Retailing Inc., which operates higher-end Japanese department stores, a strategy which Loeb criticized, promoting a larger focus on convenience stores. The company has recently reported that it will soon be closing some of its unprofitable supermarkets and department stores.
Nasdaq revealed that analysts expect new leadership to foster broader decision-making and provide managers with greater freedom than before.