Kazuto Ogawa has been appointed president and CEO of Canon U.S.A. Inc. Ogawa has almost 40 years of experience with Canon since beginning his career with Canon Inc. in 1981. From 1995-2005, he held positions with Canon Singapore, Canon Hong Kong and Canon China before returning to Canon Singapore as president and CEO. In 2008, Ogawa was named president and CEO of Canon Canada. He became an executive officer of Canon Inc. in 2011 and was appointed executive vice president of Canon China in 2014. He was elected as a managing executive officer of Canon Inc. in 2016.
“It is a great honor to take on this role as the new president and chief executive officer of Canon U.S.A., Inc., especially during a time of uncertainty when COVID-19 is impacting the global marketplace,” said Ogawa. “In this pivotal moment, our employees, customers, channel partners and other stakeholders remain our top priority and we all need to work together to navigate through this challenging time.”
Ogawa’s new role as president and CEO will be complemented with other senior executive appointments at Canon U.S.A. Inc., on which he remarked: “I’m pleased to acknowledge the well-deserved promotions of my esteemed colleagues. This leadership team exemplifies Canon’s dedication to growth and innovation and commitment to our values.”
The additional Canon executive appointments include:
- Tatsuro Kano has been promoted from senior vice president and general manager of Imaging Technologies and Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. to executive vice president of the Imaging Technologies and Communications Group.
- Shinichi Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager of Business Imaging Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. has been promoted from vice chairman to chairman and chief executive officer of Canon Solutions America. He has added these titles in addition to retaining his role at Business Imaging Communications Group.
- Katsuhiko Matsufuji has been promoted to the role of vice president and general manager of Marketing, Business Imaging Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. Mr. Matsufuji is returning to the U.S.A. from Canon Inc. in Tokyo and is replacing Hiro Imamura, who is assuming a role with Canon Europe Inc.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More