COURTS Asia appoints Hiroshi Nojima as group CEO

COURTS Asia has appointed Hiroshi Nojima (pictured) as group CEO effective from 1 July. He will replace outgoing Terry O’Connor, who will relinquish operational responsibilities as group CEO and support the Group as executive adviser from 1 July. Nojima is the president and representative executive officer of Nojima Corporation and the chairman of COURTS Asia.This resignation of O’Connor and change in management follow the completion of COURTS’ acquisition by Japanese retailer Nojima Corporation earlier this year.According to a press release, Nojima grew his family’s consumer electronics business from one store to over 850 stores in Japan today. Having joined Nojima Corporation at 22 years old as a sales executive, he has risen through the ranks to lead Nojima Corporation to bring in SG$6.3 billion in revenue and become an employer of over 8000 staff. Equipped with both operational and management experience, he was instrumental in driving Nojima Corporation’s overseas expansion, having invested into Vietnam and expanded to Cambodia in 2013.As executive advisor at COURTS, he will offer oversight on stakeholder relationship management and the ongoing integration process. “As a long-term strategic retail owner, we will dedicate efforts to focus on our relationships with partners, customers, and employees, with the aim to transform COURTS in these challenging times,” added Nojima.As president and representative executive officer of Nojima Corporation, Nojima led the listing of the company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2016. With the aim to diversify the business, especially in high-growth industries, Nojima Corporation also acquired ITX Corporation, a mobile carrier business and NIFTY Corporation, an Internet business in 2015 and 2017 respectively.O’Connor has been with COURTS since 1993, starting out as buying director – electrical before rising to commercial director, deputy managing director and managing director. In April 2011, he assumed the role of CEO and has served as president director of PT COURTS Retail Indonesia since 2013.