JVC's Ochida Retires; Hattori Succeeds As President

By Jeff Malester -- TWICE, 6/29/2000

WAYNE, N.J. -- Akira Ochida, president of JVC Americas Corp., retired today. He has been succeeded by Katsuhiko Hattori, former vice president of JVC Americas Corp, who currently is president of JVC Company of America as well as associate director of Victor Company of Japan Ltd., the parent company. Hattori also will maintain his current role as president of JVC Company of America.

JVC Americas Corp. is the umbrella company, overseeing the JVC brand in North, South and Latin America, which takes in consumer electronics and professional products sales. JVC Company of America is the U.S. consumer electronics sales division. Both are based here.

Ochida, who has been with JVC for 37 years, will assume a new role as a senior advisor at Victor Company of Japan Ltd., after stepping down as managing director, member of the board and representative director, as well as president of JVC Americas Corp.

Ochida, who joined Victor Company of Japan Ltd. in 1963, held many executive positions throughout many company divisions. Prior to becoming president of JVC Americas Corp. in 1996, he held general manager positions with the Magnetic Products and Corporate Planning divisions at Victor Company of Japan Ltd.

Under his direction, JVC Americas Corp. has been the most profitable subsidiary of its Japanese parent, with market share and JVC brand awareness expanding dramatically in North, South and Latin America.

Hattori, as the newly appointed president of JVC Americas Corp, assumes the additional responsibilities of overseeing the JVC brand in the Americas, while continuing in his current post as president/CEO of JVC Company of America, positions he was appointed to in 1995.

Hattori, who joined JVC in 1968, helped build domestic and overseas sales and in his role as general manager of the Overseas Marketing Department, he gained invaluable international business experience.

Under Hattori's leadership, JVC Company of America has been credited with numerous technological advances in its video, audio, mobile audio and TV divisions. Most recently, JVC announced that it has developed a new copyright protection system for prerecorded D-VHS content as a well as in-home analog and digital recording, which dramatically expands the potential for the high-definition market.

Said Hattori, "This is an exciting time in history for JVC, and we are poised to bring many new discoveries to market which will be every bit as ground-breaking as our legacy invention of VHS."