Governance of the South African operations now shift to two EXCO members, according to a statement issued by a company spokesperson,  Mr Toshiyuki Kase,  Managing Director of KWE(Kintetsu World Express) Europe Middle East & Africa, “Our operations in South Africa form a vital business node in our EMEA network. For the past 8 years, it was successfully steered by Arend du Preez, the former Managing Director who established our business portfolio and increased our ability to compete even more effectively in the global market.” says Kase-san. He continues: “Throughout his tenure, Arend has built a strong management foundation which made our decision to appoint successors, so much easier. Taking the business forward, Ikuhiro Hojo and Richard Szabo will share the governance responsibilities of KWE.”

New team

Ikuhiro Hojo has a discernible track record in logistics and supply chain management. He will continue to head up the Sales portfolio at KWE. Joined by Richard Szabo, known to be a ‘transformational leader’.  Szabo’s portfolio includes the directing and financial management of KWE. Both share the same business aspirations which are to sustain and grow the business operations in southern Africa. Says Szabo: “we’re especially proud of the systems and expertise we’ve developed over the years in logistics and freight forwarding. We’ve evolved into a top global logistics management partner with expertise in the oil and gas, power generation, mining, heavy engineering, agricultural and construction sectors.”   Going forward, he continues: “at KWE, you can rely on advanced and integrated supply chain management solutions that have garnered an award-winning track record, here and abroad. While we boast 56 companies in over 40 countries, we are even more proud of our recent accomplishments. Knocking out 13 other KWE offices within the EMEA region, KWE South Africa was awarded the highest performance commendation possible by Japan, along with 9 other subsidiaries in April 2013.”Going forward he says: “the challenge for us remains to drive organic growth and to focus on our customer needs to ensure our mutual success in the future.”