Kazuo Inamori, founder of Japanese technology group Kyocera and one of the most influential executives in Asia, has died aged 90. The company announced this on Tuesday. Among other things, Inamori succeeded in one of the most spectacular restructuring measures in Japanese economic history.
He took over in 2010 after Japan Airlines filed for bankruptcy at the request of the government, turning the group into one of the most profitable airlines in the world in less than three years.
Inamori was a moral authority
“Leadership by example” was one of Inamori’s guiding principles. For the entrepreneur, modesty was a must. With a starting capital of 19,000 euros, the future billionaire turned his company, specializing in fine ceramic materials, into one of the most successful companies in Japan. His books on management philosophy are well known. Every Kyocera employee carries a booklet of Inamori’s principles.
The model entrepreneur founded management schools that teach an ethical form of business management. In Japan, Inamori was a moral authority. “Most MBA schools teach how to make the most profit in the short term. My philosophy is based on sustainable success that also creates value for the public,” he once explained in an interview.
After Japan Airlines bankruptcy, Inamori rushed to help
In 2010, when the Japanese government allowed JAL, a well-known large company, to go bankrupt for the first time so that it could be restructured, Inamori came to the rescue. It was one of the largest bankruptcies in Japanese history and shocked the entire industry. Inamori cut 16,000 jobs, or about a third of its workforce, stopped unprofitable routes and stopped phasing out gas-guzzling large planes. Thanks to him, JAL returned to the stock market.
The self-made man, who came from a humble background, was a Buddhist and, after relinquishing leadership of the company, joined a temple in Kyoto, where Kyocera is located, for a time as a monk. In 1984, Inamori set up a foundation from his private fortune, which annually awards the Kyoto Prize – alongside the Nobel Prize, one of the highest awards for achievements in science and culture worldwide. It is awarded in the categories of art and philosophy, advanced technology and basic research.
Source: Krone
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