The Board of Directors of Universal Entertainment Corp, the parent company of Okada Manila, has announced the appointment of Tomohiro Okada as its new Representative Director and President.
The decision, effective September 19th, 2024 follows Mr. Okada’s election as Director, which was approved at the Extraordinary General Shareholdersâ Meeting held on the same day.
Following the resignation of Kazuo Okada as a director in 2017, the company has focused on improving its compliance management and governance framework under the leadership of former President and CEO Jun Fujimoto.
However, Fujimoto resigned from his position as Representative Director on April 26th, of this year after being found to have breached his fiduciary duty in a 2012 transaction, leading Universal to appoint Hajime Tokuda as the new Representative Director and President.
In conjunction with this management restructuring, Hajime Tokuda and Takako Okada will transition from their roles as Representative Directors to new titles.
The companyâs management structure will include Tomohiro Okada as Representative Director and President, overseeing overall management, with Hajime Tokuda serving as Director and Vice President, focusing on corporate planning and foreign business.
According to Universal’s announcements, Okada, has worked within the company since joining in April 1991.
Over the years, he has held various significant positions, including serving as Director in June 1995, General Manager of the Management Planning Office in August 1995, and Director in charge of the Development Division in August 1997.
He also held the role of General Manager of the Administrative Division in June 1999 and managed Investor Relations and Public Relations until June 2002.
After a brief tenure at Aruze USA, Inc. in 2007, he returned to the company as a Director in June 2008 before resigning in June 2015. Most recently, he has served as a Director of Okada Holdings Limited since August 2024.
Following the board meeting, Kenshi Asano will also take on the role of Managing Director, overseeing the Administration Department, while Takako Okada will continue as Director, managing the Okada Museum and foreign business operations. Additionally, Masayoshi Miyanaga and Hiroshi Miyauchi will serve as outside Directors.
This leadership transition marks a significant step in the companyâs evolution as it aims to strengthen its management team and strategic direction.
The group also recently announced the formation of a Governance Committee to assess its management compliance practices.