What Will Sanrio's New Leadership Mean For Hello Kitty?
A new CEO is steering a company that's seen years of slumping revenues and whose home market of Japan has an aging population. But "don't count out Hello Kitty," says an author of a book about Sanrio.
New leadership has taken over at a company known for a particular brand of cute.
Shintaro Tsuji, the 92-year-old founder of Sanrio, the Japanese company that created Hello Kitty, handed over the reins to his 31-year-old grandson Tomokuni Tsuji, who officially became Sanrio's president and CEO on July 1. It's the first leadership change in the company's 60-year history.
Formerly Sanrio's senior managing director, the younger Tsuji is inheriting a multifaceted business that investors currently value at more than $1.3 billion.
Founded in 1960 as a dry goods company selling products.
