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Suntory reshapes management structure with new president
Japanese multinational Suntory Holdings has announced it will shift into a ‘top-two’ management structure as incumbent president Takeshi Niinami transitions to chairman and CEO.
Suntory has announced Nobuhiro Torii, the company’s current executive vice president, will step up to the role of president. Torii is the great-grandson of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii.
The transition to a top-two system will be effective from 25 March 2025, when Niinami will shift from president to chairman, retaining his role as representative director and CEO.
Under the new management structure, Torii will lead the entire Suntory Group worldwide, working closely with Niinami.
Niinami joined Suntory in 2014 following a 20-year career at Mitsubishi Corporation and Lawson, which he grew into a major convenience store operator in Asia.
Looking back on his decade at the brewing and distilling multinational, Niinami said: “Throughout the last decade as the president and CEO of Suntory Holdings, the integration of Beam represented a defining challenge for our company, demanding extraordinary commitment through countless difficulties. I am proud to say that two companies, each shaped by distinct cultural heritage, have successfully united under Suntory’s founding spirit and shared corporate philosophies. I look forward to working closely with President Nobu Torii to pursue our shared ambition of becoming the first Japanese company to emerge as a truly global leader in consumer goods, taking Suntory Group to new heights.”
Suntory purchased Beam Inc., the maker of Jim Beam Bourbon, in April 2014. In May of 2024 the company renamed the spirits arm of its business, previously Beam Suntory, as Suntory Global Spirits.
Torii joined Suntory in 1997 at the age of 31 following six years at the Industrial Bank of Japan, now part of Mizuho Financial Group.
The company’s new president spent 10 years in alcoholic beverage sales at Suntory. He later spearheaded the company’s flagship beer brand The Premium Malt’s.
Starting in 2008, Torii drove international expansion through acquisitions of beverage companies in both Europe and Oceania. Torii was the first president and CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food
from 2011 to 2016, and led the company’s listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2013.
Nobu assumed his current role as executive vice president of Suntory Holdings in 2016. From 2017, he has served as president and CEO of Suntory Spirits Limited, overseeing the alcoholic beverage business in Japan.
Torii said of his latest appointment: “I am deeply honoured to have been entrusted with leading Suntory Group. I am committed to ensuring the values of our founding spirit, Yatte Minahare and Giving Back to Society, not only endure but flourish even more strongly throughout Suntory Group.
“Together, in close partnership with Chairman Tak Niinami, I will lead our organisation forward with conviction and purpose. I pledge to stand at the forefront of our 40,000 employees with a deep sense of ownership, consistently embracing bold challenges as we move forward.”
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