Toshiba 2015 Annual Report Download - page 45

Teruko Noda*
Outside Director
Hiroyuki Itami
Outside Director
(Note)
As the revised Companies Act has yet to
come into effect, Ms. Noda cannot be
officially and legally appointed as an
Outside Director until the closing of the
ordinary general meeting of the
shareholders to be held in June 2016.
Please see the notice marked with
* At the end of the Reasons for Election
on P.43.
I was reappointed an outside director of Toshiba in the midst of this crisis.
At the first meeting of the Management Revitalization Committee
launched at the end of July, in my capacity as the Committee Chairman, I stated,
“Toshiba lost the trust of shareholders and investors, the trust of customers, and,
above all, the trust of the employees.”
First of all, Toshiba needs to regain the trust of the employees so that
business activities at workplaces regain vitality. Without vitalization of
workplaces, it will not be possible to oer better products and services that will
lead to regaining the trust of customers. Only when business relationships with
customers recover, will expectations emerge of a better performance by
Toshiba, leading to the regaining of trust in capital markets.
The fundamentals of Toshiba’s business seem to have deteriorated due to
management misconduct in the past several years, perhaps without people
realizing it. Nevertheless, I know the tremendous potential of Toshiba’s
organization and employees. It is the responsibility of the top management
team, including the outside directors, to transform Toshiba’s management so
that this potential will be brought into full play.
This is certainly a time of crisis for Toshiba, but we should view it as an
opportunity for change and revitalization. With that conviction, I am determined
to do my utmost to reform Toshiba. I know that many employees love Toshiba. It
is crucially important to create an environment where they can work with pride.
I was an accountant at an auditing rm for 30 years; a commissioner of Japan’s
Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission for six years; and, most
recently, a member of the audit & supervisory board of two companies for six
years. Public certied accountants protect investors by ensuring reliable nancial
statements, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission by ensuring a
fair and transparent market. After many years of listening to investors, I am
keenly aware of the importance of accounting audits and market surveillance,
and of the need to safeguard investors’ legitimate interests. I feel I have always
stood close to investors.
Toshiba is an enterprise highly committed to the future of the planet and
its people, and must be a leading industrial group in its business, strategy and a
renewed commitment to good governance. Shareholder and stakeholder
confidence have been damaged by the accounting scandal, but Toshiba is
making a concerted eort to reform governance and prevent any recurrence.
Everybody who works for Toshiba Group, executives and employees alike,
must understand that any company that wants to attract investors must rst respect
them, have integrity, and be honest and accountable in conduct and performance.
Conscious of my responsibility, and aware that an objective, independent
perspective can illuminate, I will do my best to help Toshiba regain trust through
governance reform and business operations, so that this great company can
enhance its corporate value and ourish long into the future.
Message from Outside Directors
44
TOSHIBA Annual Report 2015