Chief of 7-Eleven parent quitting
Published on: Friday, April 08, 2016
TOKYO: A Japanese executive credited for the global success of 7-Eleven convenience stores said Thursday he would quit the company after losing a boardroom battle that critics said was aimed at putting his son in charge.The high-profile spat saw 83-year-old chairman Toshifumi Suzuki resign after a personnel shake up he proposed was fiercely opposed by US billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, known for forcing change at Sony and Yahoo!, and who accused the company of slipping toward nepotism.Shares of Seven & i Holdings, the chain's parent, tumbled more than 8.0 per cent in Tokyo Thursday before directors rejected the controversial staffing changes.
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The stock pared most of its losses after the vote. Suzuki announced his resignation several hours later.The board had met to discuss Suzuki's call to remove Ryuichi Isaka, who runs the chain's domestic stores, among other changes.Loeb, head of New York hedge fund Third Point, accused Suzuki of manoeuvering to install his own son as president, a claim he denied Thursday.The US investor instead backed Isaka to take over the helm at Japan's biggest retailer, which reported a record fiscal year operating profit of 352.32 billion yen ($3.2 billion) on Thursday.
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