Corporate GovernanceMessage from the Chairman

I am exerting myself
to achieve “zero defect,”
our lifeline going forward,
with our front lines
and suppliers.

Takehiro KamigamaChairman

TDK is moving forward steadily, and dynamically, along the path it should take. As we aim to become the world's largest sensor manufacturer, we are first striving to double sales in our sensor business—the kind of leap we need to make to keep things interesting. We also have major expectations for rechargeable batteries and power solutions as a whole. Still, there are several important issues to address if we are to ensure the success of that growth strategy.

The most important of these issues is quality. Having dealt with an accident in which a fire caused by a TDK humidifier resulted in the loss of precious human life, TDK and all of its employees are deeply cognizant of the weight of our responsibility to society with regard to quality. As the use of electronics in automobiles continues to progress, poor quality could lead to major accidents involving human life, making quality improvement and quality control more important than ever. This is why TDK is engaged in an across-the-board pursuit of Monozukuri (manufacturing excellence) that eliminates defects, and as part of strengthening compliance, I personally visit the front lines to spearhead our quality audits. Given our plans to bolster our expansion in modules and units, I am also meeting directly with the presidents of our component suppliers and asking for their cooperation in ensuring thorough quality control.

We also continue to strengthen our corporate governance. TDK's Board of Directors has made progress in splitting its audit and executive functions, and our three outside directors are making use of their respective, extensive experience to provide shrewd advice to our executive team. Going forward, we will not only focus on a complete split of audit and executive functions in the formal sense, but will work to create a structure that is both effective and balanced. Governance with regard to the companies we have acquired in recent years is another important subject. Particularly crucial to ensuring the success of these acquisitions is the management of people. It is essential that we continue to engage in technology exchange and dialogue, and increase the motivation of the employees.

As we have done for the past more than 80 years, we must diligently invest in technology while continuing to think about and create the things required by society in the near future. This approach we must not fail to maintain. To continue tailoring the evolution of our products to society's requirements will require that we preserve and continue to refine a consistent Monozukuri, from the materials that are the foundation of our products to the products themselves, and further, that we constantly lead in the development of methods that are different from other companies.

As we continue to aim for TDK's name to become synonymous with magnetism, we will also work to achieve long-term, sustainable improvement in corporate value.