Members of the Board of Directors, Audit & Supervisory Board Members, and Executive Officers

Career

I was involved in specialty gas importing and exporting from my first year in the Company, before being sent on assignment to Matheson Tri-Gas in my third year. This experience was the basis for a further 14 years working overseas and my current position of responsibility for a global holding company. Building relationships within semiconductor industry customers has also benefited my experience and understanding of the industrial gases business as a business which is expanding globally. Since all of our customers are sharing information around the globe as they grow their businesses, I want to encourage our teammates for further global development together with the Company.

Career

I would like to reflect on the value created by industrial gases, which I have been involved with for over 40 years. All life exists because there is air. Our leading products are industrially separated and refined from air. Therefore, it is because industrial gases are both universal and immutable that their applications are also inexhaustible. Gases have various properties but cannot be seen, and their weight is also difficult to feel. Indeed, gases truly have the nature of their etymological root, “chaos.” Our value creation model is the provision of solutions to the various challenges that arise in control technologies for safely delivering invisible gases and application technologies for maximizing the functions of gases.

Career

The company offers a complete line of industrial and electronic gases and related equipment. We are well positioned in the major markets to support our Customers with globally competitive plant engineering and gas applications technology. However, the most noteworthy strength of the group is our People and their strong commitment to create meaningful value for Customers and our shareholders. The organization continually evolves to meet new economic, social and environmental challenges all while maintaining focus on profitable growth via strategic acquisitions and large-scale capital projects. My background in various aspects of the industrial gas business allows me to contribute to a wide range of efforts to improve and grow our business. Sales and Sales Management roles in both industrial and electronics market sectors is rounded out by operations management experience overseeing multiple Air Separation and Liquid Carbon Dioxide plants. This has allowed me to take a more balanced view of issues and opportunities from both a commercial and operations perspective helping the Team select the best solution for a given set of circumstances.

Career

I entered the gas industry in 1995. Over the past nearly 30 years, I’ve discovered a deep passion for continuous improvement: enhancing our solutions to better serve our customers, increasing productivity for both our company and stakeholders, prioritizing sustainability, and fostering employee growth and development. Precisely since we joined the NSHD group, these values have been reinforced and consolidated with a regional customer-centric strategic approach as part of our global group DNA, something I particularly admire from my professional experience in marketing and sales working closely with customers. These are still the strengths of our company, summarized in our philosophy: Proactive, Innovative, Collaborative.  We are proud of being a great company and an exceptional team. As we strive for excellence, we recognize that the better we perform, the more challenging it becomes to question the status quo. However, in order to navigate the complex business environment ahead, we must do precisely that. Starting from a winning position like we do, our greatest opportunity lies in further enhancing synergies to thrive in this new environment.

Career

Since becoming an outside director of Nippon Sanso Holdings, I have been particularly impressed by the hunger of all employees for research and development. Another thing that has impressed me has been the way that all employees, not only those in manufacturing divisions, work seriously with a sense of mission. I am proud to be a member of this Company. I will continue making every effort to create an environment where people of even greater diversity can work over the long term, and ensure that the Company enables all employees to achieve even more of their potential.

Career

NSHD’s strength is in having technologies, personnel, and organization on a global scale that can provide customers with solutions for every process, unlike ordinary manufacturers, from the delivery of industrial gas manufacturing facilities to gas production, supply, and usage. This makes the Company extremely attractive. I have many years of experience in manufacturing and construction. Many of the approaches and management methods that I used there are applicable here to NSHD, and I believe that my management experience is useful when making management decisions at NSHD.

Career

NSHD’s key strength lies in its proximity to the commercialization of hydrogen and decarbonization, which are central to our global expansion and efforts to combat global warming. I am grateful for the Board of Directors' commitment to fostering open and free discussion, as well as their willingness to incorporate the insights of outside directors. As a lawyer and university professor specializing in negotiation and conflict resolution, I provide the Board with my expertise in preventative legal advice on deals under consideration, alongside recommendations on negotiation strategies and governance practices. Additionally, I am dedicated to expanding opportunities for female employees and fostering a workplace where both men and women can work together harmoniously.

Career

I was a public servant for almost 40 years, including roughly seven years spent working at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. The ADB is an international financial institution that supports economic development in countries in the Asia–Pacific region. It supports not only hard infrastructure projects but also helped with broader development of judicial systems. In addition to its stage of economic development, each country has its own history, society, culture, and national character. Through my work during this time, I needed to pay close attention to these differences as we provided support, and I was deeply aware that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. I hope to contribute actively by using my experience at the ADB in discussion of operations in Asia, which is one of NSHD’s four autonomous global regions, particularly with regard to the status of governance and compliance.

Career

My experience has been in global manufacturing and management with a transport machinery manufacturer whose net sales were 90% overseas. I have been involved in the Company’s management since last year, and I feel that it has a global scale, strong awareness of governance, and significant potential in specialty gases for semiconductor manufacturing and technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the management space, I aim to use my own experience to help NSHD become a company that inspires the expectations of society with a strong focus on global management, manufacturing, and diversity and inclusion.

Career

After joining the Company, in addition to the Finance and Accounting Division, I have worked with a wide range of people in various roles, mainly administrate works, such as information systems, plant general affairs, secretariat, and human resources. During this time, I recognized the universal nature of industrial gases and the dedication of our employees who support our social mission, safety, and quality. As an Audit & Supervisory Board member, I intend to perform an audit function, not only on financial aspects but also recognizing the importance of non-financial aspects such as human capital. I also aim to contribute to enhancing governance.

Career

The main strength of NSHD is in its business model. Raw materials can be obtained throughout the world, and one source of competitive advantage lies in a company’s ability to supply them as closely to the customer as possible. Throughout its long history, the Company has established a solid business foundation in areas around the world. Amid the global push to achieve carbon neutrality, I aim to watch over the Company’s development from a slightly different perspective, to see whether this solid business foundation will become a hindrance to new growth and success.

Career

My name is Akashi, and I am a newly appointed Audit & Supervisory Board member. I feel that the Company’s strengths lie in the high success rate of its overseas M&As, which have contributed substantially to its business expansion. It is surely one of the best examples among Japanese companies. I have spent half of　my professional life in New York (14 years) and in Hong Kong (6 years). During the later part of my time in Hong Kong, I was in charge of business relationships in all of Asia, including China, as well as the Middle East. I am keen to use my experience to date to help the Company’s business in any way I can as it expands globally.

Career

I was appointed full-time Audit & Supervisory Board member in June 2024. After joining Mitsubishi Chemical Industries in 1987, I was involved in a large number of business reorganizations and growth investments from an accounting and finance standpoint, including being stationed in the United States for a total of 12 years. NSHD is also building a global business foundation through M&As, and has achieved penetration of its corporate philosophy and vision through various creative measures. However, I believe that there is no end to solving management issues. Through my audit work, I intend to contribute to the Company’s continued healthy growth.

Career

Our Company is determined to compete with the world’s leading industrial gas companies while contributing to global industries. Although there is still room for improvement in our global management practices, we are committed to progress and embracing change. This openness to innovation is what makes our Company attractive, and I believe it is one of our greatest strengths. I spent nearly a decade in the United States, where I worked as a CFO of the Thermos Business, working through the challenges and successes of business restructuring alongside my colleagues. I am eager to leverage this experience to drive transformational change within the NSHD Group.

Career

I think that NSHD has two strengths. We are future-oriented and open-minded. Although our company has a history of over 110 years, we are not necessarily bound by tradition or legacy. With our main business in industrial gases, we are always trying to meet the needs of our customers and responding to them flexibly, looking to the future. Having grown through a number of M&As domestically and internationally, we were able to grow with an open-minded attitude while embracing different values, rather than forcibly suppressing the culture and ways of others.

Career

I began working for NSHD on October 1, 2020, and currently have 28 years of experience in the industrial gas business. Throughout my career, I have worked in the United States, Spain, and Japan, which has provided me with global perspectives and insights that I use to help improve NSHD’s financial performance. I am passionate about sharing my past experiences, implementing best practices, and emphasizing the importance of change management within my finance organization and the entire NSHD Group. As a strong advocate for both productivity and globalization, I am confident that with focused effort, we will continue to identify more efficient and cost effective methods to accomplish our goals and objectives.

Career

I joined the Company in 2008 as deputy general manager of the Legal Affairs Department, since then I have worked in legal affairs, corporate, and secretarial roles. From when I joined until now, the Company’s business has grown considerably through the acquisition of businesses in the United States, Europe, and other countries and regions. Moreover, it has undergone tremendous changes, such as the introduction of the holding company structure. These achievements are the result of officers and employees embracing challenges without fear of change or failure, and I think the ability to take on challenges like this makes the Company attractive.

Career

Since 2023, I have worked as CCO for the overall Group. At my previous position in Mitsubishi Chemical Group, I gained experience in legal and general affairs, and internal control. I feel that the Group’s strength is in developing its business based on industrial gases in four autonomous global regions and in providing new value to address social issues such as carbon neutrality. Trust from society is essential for sustainable growth, and I aim to ensure thorough compliance and appropriate risk management.

Career

I joined the Company in 1989, working initially at the then Nagoya Branch of Nippon Sanso Ltd., and then going on to gain experience in the Accounting Division, taking a post in the United States, Global Operations, Corporate Planning, and others. I think the Company’s strength is expressed in the tagline of the Group Philosophy, “The Gas Professionals,” which is providing the value of professional human resources working in each operating company. With a broad view and flexible ideas, I am committed to ensuring that the strengths of each operating company can be maximized through the overall Group.

Career

I have wide-ranging experience including electronic-related equipment construction, overseas postings, and management of a local subsidiary in Asia, which has given me a deep knowledge of both technology and management. Currently, I am working to increase the productivity of the overall Group through activities to promote Operational excellence. I believe NSHD’s greatest strength is its initiatives for innovation in products and services and its dedication to quality. Another extremely appealing aspect of the Company is its culture of respecting people and society.

Career

I am currently stationed in Singapore, and I feel that one of the exciting things about this area is the country’s innovativeness and agility. The government and private sector are both fully engaged in experimental initiatives on issues such as carbon neutrality, and they move extremely quickly. I am actively approaching these initiatives with the Company’s gas technologies, and I aim to contribute to the Company by capturing opportunities where it can participate and build a track record.