Akira Matsumoto, chief operation officer of Rizap Group Inc., poses for a photograph at one of the company's gyms in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. The former Calbee Inc. CEO surprised many in Japan when he took the post at Rizap, a gym operator that
TOKYO: When Akira Matsumoto (pic) speaks, investors hang on his every word. And here’s what he tells them: you’re less important than everyone else.
The diminutive 71-year-old can get away with it because of his status in the Japanese business world, where he’s known for his two decades of successfully running big-name companies. At the food group Calbee Inc, for example, Matsumoto almost doubled sales and increased operating profit six-fold in his nine years in charge. The shares tanked when investors heard he was leaving.
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