TOKYO, Dec 19 : Japanese electric motor maker Nidec said founder and chairman Shigenobu Nagamori has voluntarily left the board as of Friday to assume the title of chairman emeritus.
CEO and President Mitsuya Kishida would succeed Nagamori, 81, as chairman of the board, it said in a statement.
The Kyoto-based company has been struggling with governance concerns, having been placed on “special alert” by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October and given one year to improve internal controls or risk delisting.
An external committee that Nidec set up in September has been investigating the possible involvement of management in improper accounting after an internal probe flagged issues at a Chinese subsidiary.
The accounting scandal renewed scrutiny of Nagamori’s leadership and the company’s aggressive expansion through acquisitions, and has sent its share price plunging. Kishida was picked last year to succeed Nagamori as CEO.