Interview and article by Ryosuke Kobayashi / Photo by Yuki AkabaIn April 2025, Koki Kato was appointed President and CEO of Rion. Here, he shares his thoughts in response to our questions.What future direction do you see for Rion?What are your plans for expanding business overseas?What do you look for in a Rion employee?Born in 1974, he joined Rion in 1997, and went on to serve as General Manager of the Planning and Accounting Department, General Manager of the Overseas Strategy Department, and Head of the Corporate Planning Division. He was appointed Director in 2019, Managing Director in 2022, and President and CEO in April 2025. My career has largely been in management and corporate planning. I’ve always worked in departments that required a broad perspective across the entire company. I believe that expe-rience will help me transition into the role of President and CEO and view things from a similar perspective. Since I’ve only just assumed this position, I try to avoid adopting an “I must abso-lutely do this” mindset that might lead to hasty decisions. Instead, I’m slowly and carefully absorbing the new perspectives that come with this role and closely observing how my focus changes. I believe this approach will help me draw on my abilities to the fullest and lead to accurate and effective company management. I also intend to engage in comprehensive discussions with my colleagues about what needs to be done to achieve our goal of becoming a 100-year company and to work with them to reach better conclusions.I believe it’s important to create new value by drawing on our unique technologies and strengths cultivated over the years and integrating them with new technologies. Rion’s core research themes have always involved sound and vibration. Since our founding, our business divisions—covering hearing aids, medical equipment, sound and vibration measuring instruments, and particle counters—have continued to develop a wide range of products and services. It’s essential to keep expanding this devel-opment cycle. In recent years, however, we’ve seen cases where an issue in one business division was solved by an engineer from a different division, as each division has its own development team. That highlights the need to deepen cross-organizational collaboration. With a balanced approach that pursues what’s new while preserving what’s essential, I aim to create an environment where new businesses and products will bloom.We will, of course, strengthen ties with our existing overseas sites. In addition, we should focus on expanding our particle counter business internationally, taking into account industry trends such as the growing number of chip factories being built worldwide. In semiconductor manufacturing, countries like India are attracting global attention as emerging players. We need to make rapid decisions and take appropriate action to expand our business in such regions.Rion’s people are very diligent workers. Their sincerity has been the foundation of the trust we’ve built with customers over the years—and it remains one of our company’s greatest strengths. On the other hand, because we’re so focused on meeting the current needs of our customers, it can sometimes be hard to look ahead and take action toward the future. That’s why I think we should make efforts in our daily work to look one step—or even two steps—ahead in our proposals, development, and actions. Rion can’t grow without venturing into new areas, both as individuals and as a company. I hope to keep Rion, as a group of experts, on a path to solving people’s problems with professional skills, while clearly identifying what needs to be preserved and what needs to change. I plan to pursue this challenge myself. Since assuming this role, I’m repeatedly sending the message to everyone in Rion: Let’s embrace change and enjoy the process of changing things.Can you share your thoughts on becoming President and CEO of Rion?What topics do you see as important for the future development of Rion?President and CEO Koki KatoThoughts and Resolutions of Koki Kato, Our New President and CEO
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