Message from the Chairman ofthe Board of Directors
Two years have passed since Takao Ando became concurrently Chairman of the Companyand Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ando will talk about his policy of operation of theBoard of Directors and his future vision as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Corporate governance reform

HR system. We have started to operate a mechanism

As Chairman of the Board of Directors, I have promotedthat enables employees to demonstrate their capabilities

governance reforms for the past two years. I have comein an impartial manner and fully unleash their potential.

to think that keeping in mind the important of governanceFor details, please refer to the article on the “New HRis the key to promoting reforms. Previously, the BoardSystem” on p.34 of this report.

of Directors meetings were held to make resolutions

In the New Medium-Term Management Plan 2025, weand reports. I have increased the number of items on

set a female manager ratio of 15% or more and a female

the agenda and matters to be discussed, turning these

director ratio of 30% as targets for 2030 in “Toward themeetings into opportunities for discussions for the Board

Future Beyond 2025: Initiatives to Support Growth.”of Directors members. Sanyo Chemical is a company

Diversity entails various aspects, including gender, age,with an Audit & Supervisory Board, so Audit & Superviso-

nationality, and employment of persons with disabilities.

ry Board Members are expected to play important roles.

Monitoring and evaluation regarding attainment of these

Enhancement of corporate value
The most important role that the Board of Directors musttargets and the implementation of measures are also anintegral part of the Board of Directors’ responsibilities.

fulfill is to maximize the profit of stakeholders. Thus, theReform of the corporate culture

Board of Directors is also expected to check how much

We live in an era in which we cannot survive without mak-profit is generated from relevant businesses in returning changes. The question is what and how to change.

for investments in terms of human resources, goods,

It is essential to create an employee-friendly mechanismand money. While we attach importance to dividends

that increases efficiency. As part of such efforts, wefor shareholders, it is also our priority to improve theintroduced the flextime system without the core time andtreatment of employees and invest in R&D and growth.

the telecommuting system. Recently, the Group has also

I believe that we can further reward shareholders byfocused on health management. These matters are also

contributing to customers and society through high-val-discussed by the Board of Directors.

ue-added businesses, focusing on the operation of thePromotion of diversity also aims to ensure open

Board of Directors to hold discussions and make judg-communication so that everyone can express candid

ments that contribute to the enhancement of corporate

opinions and facilitate discussions regardless of their po-value, and thereby improving long-term performance.

sition. A few years ago, we started to address colleagues

However, long-term R&D and attempts to start newwith “-san” (honorific suffix) rather than their position, andbusinesses are inevitably accompanied by failure. As
Chairman of the Board of Directors, I encourage man-eliminated the dress code.

agement to be unafraid of taking on challenges while

Aspirations for the future

maintaining management transparency for stakeholders

I hope to help our stakeholders understand the Sanyo

toward the future.

Chemical Group. Before that, we must have a clear

Diversity
With the business environment drastically changing, including the shrinking domestic market due to a declining

vision of our operations. The first thing to do is to further
promote information disclosure to all the stakeholders,
including shareholders, investors, and employees.
As Chairman of the Board of Directors, I will focus onbirthrate and an aging population, we focus on ensur-promoting fairness and transparency to make the organi-ing diversity. This is because we believe that diversity

zation resilient and ensure quick response to any irregu-is important to change conventional internal rules andlarities to a certain extent.

workstyles and create a strong, and resilient businessorganization. To this end, a fair organization must becreated. Treatment should not differ depending on race,nationality, or gender. In April 2023, we introduced a new43

Sanyo Chemical Group Integrated Report 2023

Chairman of the Company
Chairman of the Board of Directors