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JAL Announces New Top Management Line Up

Analysis

The Japan Airlines Group today announced changes to its boards of directors, effective April 1st and subject to approval of the annual general meeting of shareholders in late June. 



The changes relate to the boards of directors and executive officers of JAL Corporation (the JAL Group holding company) and the two main operating companies, JAL International and JAL Domestic.

JAL board member and senior vice president, Haruka Nishimatsu, 58, is JAL's new CEO designate, subject to the formal approval of the annual general meeting of shareholders in late June (date to be announced). Nishimatsu is currently a member of all three JAL boards as senior vice president, finance and purchasing. Until confirmation as CEO in June he will be promoted from his current post of senior vice president to senior managing director on all three JAL Boards, effective April 1st.

Nishimatsu is a JAL career man and joined the airline in 1972 after graduating in economics from Tokyo University. His JAL career has been predominantly in finance.

Toshiyuki Shinmachi, current JAL Group CEO, is designated chairman, effective from the June 2006 annual shareholders meeting. He remains in his present post as CEO until the shareholders' meeting.

Other new board appointments include the promotion of Kiyoshi Kishida, currently managing director, flight operations of JAL International, to the post of senior managing director, Safety and flight operations, for all three JAL companies.

Fumio Tsuchiya, senior vice president and deputy managing director, corporate planning, JAL Corporation is promoted to managing director, corporate communications and compliance and environment for all three JAL companies. Corporate communications is a soon to be formed new company section, including public relations, investor relations and brand communications.

Among those retiring from the three JAL boards are Katsuo Haneda, executive vice president of the three companies, Hidekazu Nishizuka, senior managing director, Takenori Matsumoto, managing director.

Other retiring board members are: Nobuyoshi Sera from JAL Corporation, Takao Imai, Hiroyasu Omura and from JAL International, and Gentaro Maruyama, and Tetsuo Takahashi from JAL International and JAL Domestic and Masuhisa Yokoyama from JAL Domestic.

Three executive officers will also step down. These are Hideyuki Kanenari, Nobutaka Ishikure and Ichiro Funabashi. Executive officers are responsible for day-to-day operations in the departments they manage but do not have voting rights.
These changes and other board appointments and executive officer changes are being made in preparation for the re-unification of the two main JAL operating companies, JAL International and JAL Domestic, from October 1st 2006.

Another part of that corporate reform is the integration of JAL Sales, the JAL Group passenger sales and marketing company, with JAL International, effective April 1st this year.

Following today's announcement, the total number of JAL board members and executive officers is 36, a decrease of five from the current level.

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