Kazuo "Kaz" Koshiji has been Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Santen) since 2012. Kaz, who joined Santen in 2006, supports the company’s mission to deliver Happiness with Vision through a financial strategy that emphasizes a combination of societal value and business growth.

Kaz is committed to maximizing shareholder value via measures including protection from hostile takeovers, securing equity financing for growth investments, providing appropriate executive compensation and enhancing ophthalmology-business profitability through maximized cash generation and return on equity(ROE).

To support globalization, in 2019 Kaz established Santen’s International Financial Head Quarter (IFHQ) in Geneva, a radical internal transformation that shifted global treasury and certain financial-planning and analysis functions from Japan to Switzerland. The issue was whether to enhance Japanese or global financial operations and Kaz selected the latter. Today, IFHQ become a primary arranger role of fund raising and supply the necessary funds to subsidiaries through global treasury system. It leads boosting Santen’s capability to generate cash flow and improve capital efficiency, specifically return on equity(ROE) and invested capital(ROIC).

Looking ahead, Kaz is emphasizing financing for investments aimed at improving profitability of the core business and optimizing capital costs. During the pandemic he has been fortifying the resilience of Santen’s P&L to withstand any business environment.

Thus, Kaz is developing a solid financial platform to support our growth investment by strengthening financial capacity, mitigating financial risk, improving capital efficiency and enhancing shareholders’ equity.

Prior to Santen, Kaz was Chief Researcher/Consultant of MUFG Research & Consulting from 1997 to 2005. Before that he led business-development sections at Sumitomo Rubber Industries and Itoman Corporation. Throughout the entire period, he developed an investment-appraisal practice during Japan’s early days of M&A advisory and provided transaction advisory service including financial valuation.

Kazuo has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Doshisha University, Japan.