Contributing to Hitachi
In a career that has spanned 40 years to date, I workedfor Sony developing a range of businesses acrossglobal markets. Most of this time was spent in
consumer electronics and financial services. Change isfierce in consumer electronics markets, and I gained abroad range of experience. For example, in the mobilephone sector where Sony had a joint venture with amajor European communications handset maker, I wasdirectly involved in the integration process. In the TVbusiness, during the technology shift from cathode ray
tubes to LCD, we had to restructure assets scattered inevery region worldwide in a relatively short time. The
experiences taught me about the need to anticipate
paradigm shifts and major technological changes;
about how to set management priorities; and how vital
it is to make fast, timely decisions when companies arefacing a period of necessary reform.
I am honored to receive the opportunity to serve as
an independent outside director for Hitachi, a leader ofAn enterprise that creates new value
Hitachi is a unique global enterprise in its goal to be aleading innovation partner for the IoT era. The internalGroup strengths in OT, IT, and Products enable Hitachi
to develop integrated digital solutions. The global
development of businesses across a wide range ofsectors means it can create new value for manycustomers worldwide by helping to address a range ofsocial or corporate management issues.
The strong leadership displayed by top
management has driven transformation at Hitachi
across different business sectors, producing noteworthy
results. The Group as a whole is working diligently toachieve the goals of the 2018 Mid-term ManagementPlan. A sustained transformation will probably berequired to turn Hitachi into a global force. Continuously
My aspirations as a director
Hitachi clearly has the potential to be a leading
company known worldwide for its excellence.
The Mid-term Management Plan to fiscal 2021 will
guide evolution towards this goal. I am extremely happy
to become an independent outside director of Hitachi ata time when the discussion on how to achieve this ishappening in earnest.
To realize further growth for Hitachi, as members of
the Board of Directors, our role is to support theFoundation for Value Creation

Messages from Newly Appointed Independent Outside Directors

Katsumi Ihara

corporate Japan. I am extremely sympathetic to
Hitachi’s business vision of applying technology andinnovation to the solution of a variety of social issues.
Hitachi is currently pursuing additional reforms to evolve
into a major player in global markets. Using myexperience and knowledge, I hope to provide Hitachiwith useful management advice to target global growth.

revising the business portfolio while reinforcing overseas
operations are needed so that Hitachi can generate theprofits that are consistent with the success of attainingglobal enterprise status.
The Hitachi Group’s highly diversified operations
make it no easy task to grasp Hitachi’s entire business.
In my opinion, this increases the importance ofexplaining the corporate philosophy and businessstrategy to varied stakeholders clearly to gain theirunderstanding and empathy. In this global environment,
I believe that maintaining communication with manydifferent stakeholders will help Hitachi to build greater
enterprise value.

executive officers in our supervisory capacity. I will also
be serving on the Audit Committee and theCompensation Committee. While serving on the Boardor working in other roles, I hope to utilize my experienceto provide various opinions and advice. As a member ofa highly diverse and knowledgeable Board, my sincere
wish is to contribute to Hitachi’s continued growth andto further gains in enterprise value.

59Why I joined the Board of Directors of a trusted
and iconic company
It was most gratifying to be asked to be a directorof such a prestigious company as Hitachi with its
long and successful history. The cultural power ofJapan s processes and organization have helped
produce one of the world s largest and mostsophisticated economies. Having worked in Japanas an executive for GE and then for the former
Sumitomo 3M venture, I was naturally aware thatHitachi is regarded as one of Japan s leading
companies. I have immense respect for Japan sachievement in setting the de facto standard for
quality and innovation.
My business background is in finance andcommerce. I hope I can use my experience ofworking in Europe and Asia in various roles to help
contribute to Hitachi s global development.
While corporate governance has evolved quite a
bit over the past decade in Japan, I think theJoe Harlan

increased presence of independent voices at Board
level shows Hitachi is a company with an excellent
governance structure. I have also been extremely
impressed by the quality of the people who serve on
Hitachi s Board of Directors. Naturally, I jumped at
the opportunity to contribute to the company s
continued growth as an outside director.

In aspiring to global leadership, innovation and marketing are the keys to growth for HitachiEnterprises must grow to survive in the modern
marketplace. Growth is essential because it leads tomore business opportunities, more R&D investment, andbetter products, services, and solutions. Growth is also
vital to provide investors with a return, because trying toshrink your way to success is not a good option.
Innovation in new applications and markets is thekey to growing while also keeping the core businesshealthy. Hitachi has a culture and history ofdeveloping unique, differentiated products, services,and solutions that help their customers succeed.
One of the reasons I am so excited to be at Hitachi
is the potential to combine its great product trackrecord with the IoT platform Lumada to become aleading innovation partner of integrated products,
services, and solutions that help link up customers
value chains. It often benefits the customer when one
company provides a total solution, rather than having
to deal with multiple vendors.
For example, it benefits a city if you can help
provide a complete end-to-end transportation
solution̶not just the trains or rolling stock, but thecontrols, signaling, ticketing machines, and related
services as well.
Supported by its manufacturing and productdevelopment culture, Hitachi has a strong track recordin serving customers in this way. And this approach isjust as valid across different markets, from energy orwater to railway, finance, and healthcare.
Marketing this great story to stakeholders̶who
include investors, shareholders, customers, andemployees̶is another vital element in generating
continuous growth.
Over time, the success cultivated by great
products and services, backed by an organization
dedicated to innovative product development anddelivered through high-quality sales and marketing,creates its own appeal. I think the aspiration tocontribute to society through the development ofsuperior, original technology and products, thereby
fulfilling Hitachi s Mission, is also part of Hitachi sappeal. This is a story we need to tell repeatedly topotential customers in cities and countries around theworld as we perpetuate our brand awareness.

A strong desire to contribute to the growth of the enterprise
Growth is a challenge, and meeting that challengemeans cultivating change within the organization. In myview, adding more independent voices to the discussion
in the executive suite can only help to supportconstructive change for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Hitachi is undergoing a transformation. Having left acompany that did transform, I see great potential for thebusiness to grow using Hitachi s strengths in the
integration of OT, IT, and products.
60

In my time as an independent outside director, I
want to look at what Hitachi does commercially andprovide insights into where we can move faster, bemore agile, or have a better relationship with customers
by focusing on core competencies. In this way, I hopethat I can help Hitachi to develop and sell total solutions
that are truly competitive in the marketplace.
I look forward to contributing to the development of
Hitachi as a member of its Board of Directors.