Page 57 - Forbes - USA (February 2018)

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printing, and so on. The commercial printing shift towards B2B products. Then, it identified “We will continue to use M&A to strengthen
business is a different world from the field key business fields that it wanted to develop, our healthcare, printing and network camera
of printing we were used to. So, in 2010, we located the ideal global partners to expedite businesses. We will do whatever is necessary
welcomed the Dutch firm Océ, a major name those developments and employed Mergers to support these new businesses and seek
in the business, into the Canon Group. The & Acquisitions (M&A) to accelerate the adop- out others.”
synergies between our two businesses are tion of new technologies. And what other areas might be of interest
tremendous.” During Phase IV of the plan, the firm to Canon? “We are looking seriously at the
acquired the technologies it needed to build Internet of Things (IoT). IoT involves optical
Achieving Global Excellence a stronger, innovation-driven business, and sensors that can transmit data. Canon has
Canon is currently in Phase V of a long-term by the start of Phase V it was already reap- the lenses and the digital image processing
effort it calls the Excellent Global Corporation ing the benefits of its vision. Few companies to make all kinds of sensors, but we don’t
Plan. The current five-year plan, due to con- even half Canon’s size could execute and have the large-scale networking technol-
clude in 2020, is designed to carry the com- digest such a strategic pivot and book the ogy or the software to run it. We believe the
pany to new heights, including an increasing results so quickly. control system that connects and manages
share of B2B revenue and the growth of new Putting it succinctly, Mitarai notes that those huge data flows is the key to IoT. That
businesses. growth from old-line products was in single will involve AI, so AI networking technologies
To outside observers, however, it appears digits last year, while total growth from new will be a major growth area. That is one of our
that the company has already accomplished businesses was more than twice. He points next big targets.”
more than that which is generally set out in out that these numbers will naturally decline So should we expect to see Canon making
any medium-term plan. Specifically, it suc- over time, but the fact that in such a short bold acquisitions in the AI field soon? Mitarai
cessfully executed two of the most signifi- time they are adding to Canon’s bottom is tactful with his answer. “We aren’t limited
cant shifts in the past few decades of Japa- line (and boosting dividends for investors) is to using M&A. We can partner with universi-
nese business. First, Canon began a strategic impressive. ties, private companies or public institutions.
There are many ways to move ahead.”
In conclusion, it seems only fitting to ask
what drives this executive dynamo to keep
both himself and his company in constant
motion. His reply reflects his perspective on
the Canon of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
“The period from about 2000-2007 was a
golden age for us, with constant increases in
sales and profits from our mainstream prod-
ucts. Then those areas matured, and now we
are developing a range of new businesses,
which are all doing well. I expect to see a sec-
ond golden age for Canon in the very near
future.”

A native of Kyushu, Japan, Mitarai decided
not to follow his father and brothers into
medical school, but instead joined Canon,
where his uncle served as the first president.
Five years later, he was posted to the U.S.,
where he stayed for 23 years, eventually
becoming President of Canon U.S.A. Back
in Japan, he was later appointed President,
CEO and then Chairman of Canon.

Canon moved into commercial printing in 2010 with the acquisition of Océ. global.canon

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