Singapore - Canon has appointed Kensaku Konishi as President and CEO of Canon Singapore, the company's regional headquarters for South and Southeast Asia. Konishi will be responsible for leading and overseeing the company's operations in this region, which spans 18 countries.
At a press conference announcing his appointment, Konishi said Canon Singapore sees a 20 per cent growth, and expects US$4 billion in revenues from the region in 2012. He expects Canon's growth to be driven by new business areas. This includes Canon's foray into professional video production cameras (Cinema EOS C300 being the first in the series) and its acquisition of Oce leading to strength in the print production business.
Konishi said pre-orders for the Canon Cinema EOS C300 have surpassed expectations. “The professional video camera (segment) is still new for us, so we will provide certain limited quantities to Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and following industry feedback [increase shipments] in the second half of the year.”
Konishi moves to Singapore after a successful five-year stint as President and CEO of Canon India. Under his leadership, average growth in India was 30 per cent year-on-year between 2007 and 2009, and hit 50 per cent for 2009 to 2010. Despite natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, Canon India posted a 20 per cent growth in 2011.
Before joining Canon India, Konishi was President and CEO of Canon Hong Kong, where he led the team to achieve its highest ever sales of HK$2 billion in 2006 to enjoy a growth of 72 per cent. He previously worked for Canon in Singapore from 2001 to 2003 as Managing Director of Canon Marketing Singapore in charge of domestic marketing operations. In 2003, he was promoted to Executive Vice President when Canon Marketing Singapore and Canon Singapore Pte Ltd merged.
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