Canon Inc.
Leadership History
6 leaders · 1942 to present
Fujio Mitarai is the CEO of Canon, in the role since 1995.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazuto Ogawa | President and Chief Operating Officer | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| Masaya Maeda | President and Chief Operating Officer | 2016 | 2020 | 4 |
| Tsuneji Uchida | President and Chief Operating Officer | 2006 | 2012 | 6 |
| Fujio Mitarai | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1995 | Present | 31 |
| Ryuzaburo Kaku | President, later Chairman | 1977 | 1989 | 12 |
| Takeshi Mitarai | President | 1942 | 1974 | 32 |
Canon is a diversified Japanese manufacturer organized into four business units. Printing (office multifunction devices, laser and inkjet printers, production presses) is the largest. Imaging includes EOS cameras, RF lenses, cinema cameras and Axis network cameras. Medical, built on the 2016 purchase of Toshiba Medical Systems, makes CT, MRI, ultrasound and X-ray equipment. Industrial supplies semiconductor and flat-panel lithography tools and Canon Tokki OLED deposition systems. The group had 321 consolidated subsidiaries and 165,547 employees at the end of 2025, and its shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under code 7751. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
President and Chief Operating Officer
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
Joined Canon in 1981 and led Canon Singapore (2005), Canon Canada (2008) and Canon U.S.A. as President and COO (2018). He became Executive Vice President and head of Global Marketing Strategy in 2024 and was appointed Representative Director, President and COO on March 27, 2026.
President and Chief Operating Officer
2016 – 2020
4 years
Maeda oversaw the massive technological transition from traditional optical viewfinders to mirrorless camera systems, directly combating Sony's rising dominance.
He led the Image Communication Products group during the height of the DSLR era, cementing Canon's position as the global market leader in interchangeable lens cameras.
President and Chief Operating Officer
2006 – 2012
6 years
Uchida heavily invested in the diversification of Canon's business into medical equipment and industrial lithography to offset declining consumer camera sales.
During his tenure as President, he maintained strong profitability through strict cost-cutting measures despite the brutal collapse of the digital compact camera market.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1995 – Present
31 years (current)
Born in 1935 and a nephew of Takeshi Mitarai, he joined Canon in 1961, ran Canon U.S.A. as president from 1979 to 1989 and became president of Canon Inc. in 1995. He exited personal computers and other loss-making lines, launched the Excellent Global Corporation Plan in 1996 and introduced cell production in the late 1990s. He became Chairman and CEO in 2006, served as president again from 2012 to 2016 and from 2020 to March 2026, and chaired Keidanren from 2006 to 2010.
President, later Chairman
1977 – 1989
12 years
Kaku implemented the 'Kyosei' (living and working together for the common good) corporate philosophy that defined Canon's global expansion strategy in the 1980s.
As President, he aggressively challenged Xerox's monopoly in the copier market by introducing affordable, personal laser printers and copiers.
President
1942 – 1974
32 years
Restarted production after World War II, listed the company in 1949 and built its export business.
An obstetrician who backed the 1933 camera laboratory, he became president of Precision Optical Industry in 1942 and led the company as it became Canon Camera Co. in 1947, listed in Tokyo in 1949 and opened sales offices in New York and Geneva in the 1950s.
Canon's largest business is mature. Office printing volumes have not returned to pre-pandemic habits, and Canon said in its Q2 2026 results that printing-equipment customers in Europe and the U.S. were still postponing investment. Medical is the weak spot for profit: Canon booked a ~$1.11 billion (¥165.1 billion) goodwill impairment on the medical business in 2024, its own October 2025 projection put the unit's 2025 operating margin at 5.4%, and Medical operating profit was only ~$20.8 million (¥3.1 billion) in Q2 2026. In lithography Canon does not make the EUV scanners that leading-edge logic fabs depend on, so it sells i-line and KrF steppers and is betting on nanoimprint lithography, which has not reached volume production. Industrial sales fell 15.3% in Q2 2026. Results are also exposed to the yen, U.S. tariffs and memory prices, and succession remains open: Fujio Mitarai turned 91 in September 2026 and is still CEO.
Fujio Mitarai is Representative Director, Chairman and CEO. Kazuto Ogawa has been Representative Director, President and COO since March 27, 2026.
Born in 1958, Ogawa joined Canon in 1981 and ran Canon Singapore, Canon Canada and Canon U.S.A., where he was President and COO from 2018. He became Executive Vice President in 2024 and President and COO of Canon Inc. in March 2026.
He became president in 1995 and has been Chairman and CEO since 2006, serving as president again from 2012 to 2016 and from 2020 to March 2026. Born on September 23, 1935, he joined Canon in 1961 and is a nephew of Takeshi Mitarai.
Takeshi Mitarai was president from 1942 to 1974, and Ryuzaburo Kaku was president from 1977 to 1989 and introduced the kyosei philosophy. Tsuneji Uchida (2006-2012) and Masaya Maeda (2016-2020) later served as president under Mitarai as CEO.
Only 50.59% of votes supported reappointing Fujio Mitarai as a director in March 2023, after proxy advisers objected to the all-male board. Canon added its first female director, Akiko Ito, in 2024.
He exited personal computers and other loss-making lines, introduced cell production, and began the five-year Excellent Global Corporation Plans in 1996. He also chaired the business lobby Keidanren from 2006 to 2010.
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