Shimano announces restructure of European business

Major restructure of its business in Europe 

Originally posted in Angling-international

Shimano has announced a major restructure of its business in Europe aimed at consolidating and simplifying its operations.

The three companies – Shimano Europe B.V., Shimano Europe Fishing Holding B.V. and bikefitting.com B.V. – have been merged into Shimano Europe Holding B.V., which has been renamed Shimano Europe B.V.

Coinciding with these changes, two new members will join Shimano Europe’s board, Taizo Shimano (Executive Vice President, Supervisor of the  Fishing Tackle Division and Chief of Marketing Officer, Bicycle Components Division) and Hiroshi Matsui (Senior Vice President, Business Administration Department and General Operations Division).

Taizo Shimano joined Shimano in 1991, serving his apprenticeship in bicycle and fishing positions overseas before progressing to management roles in Shimano’s Fishing Division.

Hiroshi Matsui joined Shimano in 2011 as VP of Corporate Administration, progressing to Director of General, Operations Division, prior to taking his current position as Senior Vice President.

At the same time, current board member, Yoshihiro Hirata, will step down. Marc van Rooij and Satoshi Yuasa will remain members of the board.

In the daily operation, a newly formed Executive Committee will lead the company. Frank Peiffer has joined the Executive Committee as VP Bike of the Shimano Europe Group, while Arjen Vinke has been appointed as Managing Director of Shimano’s European sales offices.

The tasks of Marc van Rooij (President, Shimano Europe) and Cor Ax (Managing Director, Fishing Tackle Division) will not change on the Executive Committee.

Thom van Egmond has joined Shimano Europe as Chief Finance Officer on the Executive Committee of the company. He worked at leading consumer goods company, Unilever, for 22 years, having spent 16 years in its offices in Singapore, Italy and Morocco, carrying out senior functions in finance, supply chain and change management.

Board member changes will also take place at Rapala Shimano Eastern Europe with Taizo Shimano becoming a board member, replacing resigning board member, Satoshi Yuasa.