DoCoMo Set to Shift Focus
NTT, the majority shareholder of DoCoMo, is set to announce the appointment of Masao Nakamura as the new president of Japan’s largest mobile operator in a move that is expected to increase the influence of its parent company and shift the mobile group’s focus to the domestic market. Until recently, DoCoMo had been widely expected to pick Shiro Tsuda, also a senior executive vice-president, to replace Keiji Tachikawa, the group’s president for the past six years.
UPDATE: It’s official Masao Nakamura is set to become President and CEO.
It comes after a highly public intrusion in the selection process by NTT, Japan’s leading telecoms operator. Mr Tsuda, whose appointment was more or less taken for granted within DoCoMo in recent years, comes from the same engineering background as Mr. Tachikawa and has a loyal following within the group.
The appointment of Mr. Nakamura, currently senior executive vice-president, marks a new phase for DoCoMo, which has tried to build an overseas presence through investments in operators ranging from Hutchison 3G in the UK to AT&T Wireless in the US. However, it is understood that Norio Wada, president of the NTT group’s holding company, favoured Mr Nakamura, who has the same background in labour relations and is likely to be a more compliant chief executive than Mr Tsuda. Continue >>