TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Japanese electric motor maker Nidec said founder and chairman Shigenobu Nagamori has voluntarily left the board as of Friday to assume the title of chairman emeritus.
CEO and President Mitsuya Kishida would succeed Nagamori, 81, as chairman of the board, it said in a statement.
Nidec has been under pressure to improve governance after the Tokyo Stock Exchange placed it on “special alert” in October, giving the firm one year to strengthen internal controls or face possible delisting.
The company set up an external committee in September to investigate potential management involvement in improper accounting after an internal probe flagged issues at a Chinese subsidiary.
“My greatest wish is for Nidec to recover quickly and be reborn” after the special alert is lifted, Nagamori said in a written statement.
“I am entrusting Nidec’s management entirely to President Kishida, and that, I believe, will ensure Nidec’s solid turnaround.”
The accounting scandal renewed scrutiny of Nagamori’s leadership and the company’s aggressive expansion through acquisitions, and has sent its share price plunging.
Kishida was picked last year to succeed Nagamori as CEO.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Louise Heavens)
