Why Suntory’s CEO is still investing in a sobered-up spirits market
Semafor · Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson ·
Nobuhiro Torii sees a chance to build the family company’s brands as listed rivals cut back.
The Signal Interview
Nobuhiro “Nobu” Torii’s appointment as CEO of Suntory last September returned the leadership of the group behind Yamazaki whisky to its founding family, 126 years after his great-grandfather, Shinjiro Torii, set up shop as a wine importer in Osaka. But the younger Torii’s succession was an abrupt and unplanned one.
Takeshi “Tak” Niinami, Suntory’s first non-family CEO, quit after police searched his home for suspected illegal supplements. They found none, and the high-profile executive denied having broken the law. But the board decided that Niinami’s resignation was necessary, and elevated Torii from his role as president, which he’d assumed just a few months earlier.