Japan’s Toshiba Corp said it had nominated Satoshi Tsunakawa, a former head of its medical equipment division, to be its next chief executive officer – a move that it hopes will draw a line under a damaging accounting scandal.
Sixty-year-old Tsunakawa, who was not embroiled in the scandal, is credited with having increased earnings at the medical equipment unit. He is currently a senior executive vice president.
A $1.3 billion book-keeping scandal last year has pushed Toshiba to streamline its businesses, announce plans for 14,000 jobs cuts and the sale of the medical unit to Canon Inc for $5.9 billion.
Last month, it also took a $2.3 billion writedown on U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse in a much-anticipated move to address lingering doubts over its accounting practices. Tsunakawa’s appointment will be formally decided after a shareholders’ meeting in late June.
Current CEO Masashi Muromachi took the helm last July when his predecessor and a slew of other senior executives resigned for their roles in the scandal, but had not planned on doing the job long term. He will become a special adviser. Senior Executive Vice President Shigenori Shiga was nominated to become chairman.