Fujifilm is reorganising into three business divisions, photo imaging, medical and graphic communications announcing the changes to coincide with the announcement that chairman and CEO Shigetaka Komori is to step down.
Komori is credited with navigating the business from an analogue film business into a medical and pharmaceuticals business during his 20 years at the head of the company.
He failed, however, to pull off a merger with Xerox after the involvement of Carl Icahn and other activist investors took control of the US company. It culminated in the ending of long standing agreements on technology sharing and distribution between the two companies. And this has prompted the combination of its documents business, effectively the former FujiXerox operation, and its graphic communications business composing printing plates and chemistry, and inkjet consumables and presses for commercial print, large format and packaging.
The new graphic communication business division comes into effect on 1 July while Fujifilm Business Innovation, the rebranded FujiXerox business came into effect on 1 April.
On the same date the imaging field combining the cameras and optical device operations and the healthcare field combining diagnostic equipment and the life science business started.
Komori will become chief advisor to the business with Kenji Sukeno, previously COO, becomes chairman and Teiichi Goto, previously director in charge of the medical divisions, becomes ceo and president.
Komori joined Fujifilm in 1963 and was named CEO in 2003. He is now 83 and leaves on a high. The company anticipates being able to report a record net income for the year that ended in March. Its medical divisions, targeting a £10 billion revenue, have enjoyed a string pandemic with a Fujifilm treatment being recognised as effective against Covid-19 and building plants in the US and the UK to help produce the next generation of vaccines against this and other diseases.
