Showa Denko Announces Changes in Corporate Management

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Showa Denko decided at its Board of Directors meeting on changes in corporate management (directors, corporate officers and councilors).

Hisashi Maruyama (President and CEO, Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd.) will be elected Director of SDK at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2021.

Koichi Nishimura (Assistant to President for promotion of chemicals safety and environmental protection; officer in charge of Industrial Gases, Basic Chemicals, Electronic Chemicals, and Functional Chemicals divisions as well as Kawasaki, Higashinagahara, Isesaki and Tatsuno plants) will resign as Corporate Officer on January 3, 2021. He will assume the post of President, Union Showa K.K., on January 4.

Akihiro Jimbo (General Manager, Basic Chemicals Division) will also resign as Corporate Officer on January 3. He will become business adviser to Maruzen Showa Unyu Co., Ltd. effective January 4.

Meanwhile, Katsuyuki Tsuji (Associate Councilor; General Manager, Advanced Battery Materials Division; President, Showa Denko Packaging Co., Ltd.) will be newly appointed Corporate Officer on January 4.

There will be the following changes in corporate officers' responsibilities as from January 4:

Jiro Ishikawa (Senior Managing Corporate Officer, General Manager, Device Solutions Division; officer in charge of Electronics Materials Division and Chichibu Plant) will oversee Electronics Materials Project (instead of Electronics Materials Division).

Keiichi Kamiguchi will be promoted to Managing Corporate Officer. He will continue working as Chief Risk Management Officer; officer in charge of Internal Audit, Legal, CSR & General Affairs, Human Resources, and Purchasing & SCM departments; and Chairman, Security Export Control Committee.

Masunori Kaiho (officer in charge of Production Technology, Energy & Electricity, SPS Innovation and Responsible Care departments; and Chairman, Safety Measures Committee) will additionally oversee Kawasaki, Higashinagahara, Isesaki and Tatsuno plants.

Hiroshi Sakai (Chief Technology Officer; officer in charge of Advanced Battery Materials Division, Institute for Integrated Product Development, Advanced Technology Laboratory, and Corporate R&D and Intellectual Property departments) will cease to oversee Advanced Technology Laboratory.

Kazuo Hirakura (General Manager, Industrial Gases Division; President, Showa Denko Gas Products Co., Ltd.) will additionally take charge of Basic Chemicals, Electronic Chemicals and Functional Chemicals divisions.

Meanwhile, Nobuhiro Kato (General Manager, IR Office, Finance & Accounting Department), Takanori Hieda (General Manager, Responsible Care Department), and Takayuki Tohaya (Corporate Strategy Department) will resign as Councilors on January 3. Kato will serve as Corporate Expert, Finance & Accounting Department, as from January 4. Hieda will be appointed President of Tsurusaki Kyodo Doryoku K.K., and Tohaya as President of Showa Denko Kenzai K.K., both effective January 4.

Effective January 4, Makoto Kimura (General Manager, Environment, Safety & Quality Assurance Control Department, Oita Complex), Hiroyoshi Hayami (Associate Councilor; General Manager, Internal Audit Department), Kiyofumi Matsuoka (Associate Councilor; General Manager, Aluminum Specialty Components Division), and Satoshi Hara (Associate Councilor; General Manager, Purchasing & SCM Department) will be newly appointed Councilors. Kimura will become General Manager, Responsible Care Department as well as its Environment & Safety Office. Hara will become General Manager, Basic Chemicals Division.

Tamami Koyama (Councilor; General Manager, Advanced Technology Laboratory) will become Councilor, Assistant to President, effective January 4.

As of late March next year, the Board of Directors will consist of Kohei Morikawa (Representative Director; President and CEO); Hidehito Takahashi (Representative Director; CSO), Motohiro Takeuchi (Representative Director, CFO), Hideo Ichikawa (Director; Chairman of the Board), Hisashi Maruyama (Director; President, Showa Denko Materials), and Hiroshi Sakai (Director; CTO); as well as Masaharu Oshima, Kiyoshi Nishioka, Kozo Isshiki, and Noriko Morikawa (Outside Directors). In addition, Toshiharu Kato and Jun Tanaka will serve as Audit & Supervisory Board Members, and Kiyomi Saito, Setsu Onishi, and Masako Yajima as Outside Members of the Audit & Supervisory Board.