Toshiba Appoints New CEO as Company Undergoes Major Revamp

(Bloomberg) -- Nobuaki Kurumatani, representative director of CVC Capital Partners Ltd. in Japan and former vice president at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., will become chief executive officer and chairman of Toshiba Corp., the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Satoshi Tsunakawa will step down as CEO and become chief operating officer, the Tokyo-based company said. Their roles will be effective from April 1.

Toshiba is in the process of selling the crown-jewel memory unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital to avoid delisting after billions of dollars of losses in its nuclear energy operations. The incoming CEO will face the challenge of restoring confidence in the Japanese icon and finding ways to achieve growth without the key engines of semiconductors and nuclear power.

Kurumatani, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, spent all of his career in banking. He has served as a board member at Sharp Corp. since June. He will replace Tsunakawa, a Toshiba veteran of almost four decades who has led the company through one of the most difficult times in its more than a century-long history.

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