Panasonic said that its existing CEO of Europe Laurent Abadie is retiring on March 31 and he will be replaced by Junichi Suzuki. Under this role, Suzuki will become Chairman & CEO, Panasonic Europe while also inheriting the responsibility as COO, Panasonic Holding (Netherlands) B.V. and as Regional Head for Europe & CIS as well as becoming Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH.
Suzuki, currently Managing Director of Panasonic Russia as well as Panasonic Marketing CIS, will take the role as CEO of Panasonic Europe and as regional head for Europe & CIS including all other responsibilities from 1st April 2019.
Suzuki has worked in Europe and the CIS region for nearly three decades, where his first role in 1990 was within the Belgium sales company. Since then, he has gained experience in many sales and marketing companies spanning both B2C and B2B markets, including being the Director of Planning at Panasonic Europe. Suzuki continues,
“I have spent over half my life in Europe, my children have grown up here, and I want to thank Europe for the fantastic experience and support I've received so far. I will now be in a role where I can fully repay my thanks to employees, partners and customers – to all those who have supported me in my business life so far. As a Japanese native and a long-standing European resident, I believe I am the perfect bridge for our business between Japan and Europe to achieve future strong success,” said Suzuki.
Abadie joined Panasonic on March 1, 2004 as Deputy Managing Director of Panasonic Over the past decade as the Regional Head for Europe, Abadie has been shaping the strategic direction of Panasonic in Europe while delivering an innovative approach to Europe's commercial challenges.
