Prime Highlights
- Seven & i Holdings is launching a new international business management office on 1 July, absorbing 7-Eleven Japan’s overseas operations.
- Ken Wakabayashi will shift from President and CEO of 7-Eleven International to executive officer in charge of international business.
Key Facts
- Seven & i Holdings is a Japanese retail conglomerate and the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
- The restructure covers Seven & i’s international operations outside Japan and North America, with multiple new departments and executive appointments confirmed.
Background
Seven & i Holdings is reorganising its international business operations, covering markets outside Japan and North America, with a new management structure set to take effect on 1 July.
The company is establishing a new international business management office and transferring 7-Eleven Japan’s overseas operations into it. An international operations department will also sit within the new office. Separately, Seven & i is adding a global convenience store planning department under its corporate planning division and a global talent development department within its human resources division.
Seven-Eleven Japan’s global business expansion department will merge with the merchandise procurement department and be renamed the global merchandising development department.
The restructure brings several executive changes. Ken Wakabayashi, President and CEO of 7-Eleven International, will move into the role of executive officer in charge of international business. Minoru Nakamura, executive officer and head of global HR strategy, will take on the additional role of general manager of the human resources division. Kei Hamada, executive officer and senior officer in corporate planning, will also serve as senior officer for the new international business management office. Several other executives and department heads will take on new or expanded roles as part of the reorganisation.
The changes form part of a broader push by Seven & i to strengthen its global convenience store ambitions. In North America, the company’s arm continues its search for a new CEO and is laying the groundwork for a future IPO.
