Canon has appointed Shinichi ‘Sam’ Yoshida as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, to be effective from March 1, 2025. 

Yoshida will be succeeding Yuichi Ishizuka who is retiring after over four decades of service to the company. Ishizuka was named as the CEO for EMEA in 2018, after serving in key leadership roles. He played a pivotal role in the launch of the world-renowned Cinema EOS range in the US, which has revolutionised film shooting and created mainstay video products.

In his new role, Yoshida brings over three decades of leadership experience. Most recently, he served as the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Canon Solutions America. Previously, he held key positions including, as the Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Marketing Strategy Unit and Canon Financial Services, EVP & General Manager of Canon Canada, Group Executive at Canon, VP & General Manager for Canon USA. At the beginning of his career, he served Canon Virginia as the Assistant to President. 

On the academic front, Yoshida holds a bachelor degree in law from Keio University, and brings strong expertise in manufacturing, innovation, recycling, new product management, strategic partnership, team leadership, and marketing skills. He will be overseeing EMEA operations across 120 countries, and teams of approximately 12,300 employees. 

You may also like:

• Niki Armstrong on bringing sustainability in tech and fostering Legal & HR synergy
• MHRSD revises Saudization targets for 260+ job roles
• Trending in 2025: AI, Green Skills, and the Future of Work
• 75% of workers in UAE & KSA seeking new jobs, Yet HRs struggling to find the right talent

Announcing the leadership change, Canon EMEA stated, “Today we have announced the retirement of our President & CEO Yuichi Ishizuka following seven years leading our Canon EMEA organisation and an esteemed 44-year career with Canon where he held senior positions globally, including in Japan, USA, and Canada. We will miss his leadership, energy and commitment to colleagues, customers and partners."

"We have also announced Shinichi ‘Sam’ Yoshida as our new President & CEO for Canon EMEA. Sam was previously in Canon USA where he held several executive positions as part of his more than 40 year tenure with Canon. We look forward to fully welcoming Sam," the company added.

Commenting on his new appointment, Yoshida said, “Canon is the market leader in imaging and print technologies with millions of customers throughout EMEA; this diverse and exciting region is full of opportunity and I am honoured to be leading the business through the next phase of innovation and growth."