Hitachi vs Johnson & Johnson: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Hitachi and Johnson & Johnson side by side

1. 1886Johnson & Johnson

   Johnson & Johnson Founded

   Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson found the company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with 14 employees, to mass-produce sterile surgical dressings after Robert was inspired by antiseptic pioneer Joseph Lister's 1885 warnings about i…

2. 1910Hitachi

   Founding and First Induction Motor

   Namihei Odaira establishes the machinery repair shop that becomes Hitachi, and develops Japan's first 5-horsepower induction motor, establishing the foundation for the company's dominance in electrical engineering.

3. 1920Johnson & Johnson

   Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages Introduced

   J&J introduces the first mass-produced adhesive bandage, sold under the Band-Aid brand starting in 1921; it becomes one of the most recognized consumer-health brands in the world before J&J later spins its consumer division out as Kenvue in 2023.

4. 1932Hitachi

   Expansion into Railway Technology

   Hitachi begins manufacturing electric locomotives and rail signaling systems, establishing a deep, institutionalized relationship with the Japanese national railway network that would evolve into the modern Hitachi Rail division.

5. 1943Johnson & Johnson

   Robert Wood Johnson II Writes 'Our Credo'

   Chairman Robert Wood Johnson II authors 'Our Credo,' a one-page statement ranking the company's responsibilities to customers, employees, communities, and shareholders in that order; it remains J&J's official governing philosophy and was later cited as the bas…

6. 1944Johnson & Johnson

   J&J Goes Public

   Johnson & Johnson lists publicly, becoming an independent, market-traded company as it expands into a diversified healthcare business under Chairman Robert Wood Johnson II.

7. 1959Hitachi

   Entry into Computing and Electronics

   Hitachi develops its first electronic computer, the HITAC, marking the company's strategic entry into the information technology sector and laying the groundwork for its future digital systems business.

8. 1982Johnson & Johnson

   Tylenol Cyanide Poisonings and Nationwide Recall

   After seven people in the Chicago area die from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules, J&J issues a nationwide recall of 31 million bottles within a week -- far beyond what investigators said was necessary -- citing Our Credo's customer-safety priority…

9. 2012Johnson & Johnson

   Alex Gorsky Becomes CEO

   Gorsky succeeds William Weldon as CEO amid a period of manufacturing-quality recalls, and spends the next decade restoring J&J's operational reputation while expanding the pharmaceutical and MedTech businesses and developing a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine duri…

10. 2016Hitachi

    Toshiaki Higashihara becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Higashihara became CEO of Hitachi in 2016. Shifted Hitachi from a sprawling conglomerate toward infrastructure and digital businesses.

11. 2020Hitachi

    Acquisition of ABB's Power Grids Business

    Hitachi executes the $11 billion acquisition of ABB's Power Grids business, renaming it Hitachi Energy and instantly establishing the company as the global leader in HVDC transmission and grid infrastructure.

12. 2021Hitachi

    Acquisition of GlobalLogic

    The company acquires the global digital engineering firm GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion, instantly establishing Hitachi as a top-tier provider of advanced software and product design services for the automotive and telecommunications sectors.

13. 2022Hitachi

    Hitachi Construction Machinery Stake Sale

    Hitachi sold a controlling stake in Hitachi Construction Machinery to Itochu and Japan Industrial Partners, part of its exit from cyclical listed subsidiaries.

14. 2022Johnson & Johnson

    Joaquin Duato Becomes CEO

    Duato becomes CEO in January 2022, later adding the chairman title, and begins preparing the separation of J&J's consumer-health business from its medicine and device operations.

15. 2023Johnson & Johnson

    Kenvue Separation

    J&J completes the spinoff of its consumer-health business (Band-Aid, Tylenol, Listerine, Neutrogena) as the standalone public company Kenvue, narrowing J&J around its higher-margin Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments.

16. 2024Hitachi

    Acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems

    Hitachi acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems. Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shiftin…

17. 2025Hitachi

    Toshiaki Tokunaga Becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Tokunaga became President and CEO on April 1, 2025, succeeding Keiji Kojima, who became Executive Chairman.

18. 2025Johnson & Johnson

    FY2025 Sales of $94.193B

    Johnson & Johnson reports $94.193 billion in sales and $26.804 billion in net earnings, split roughly 64% Innovative Medicine and 36% MedTech, both segments growing about 6% year over year.

19. 2025Johnson & Johnson

    Orthopaedics Separation Announced

    In October 2025 J&J announced plans to separate its orthopaedics business as a standalone company operating as DePuy Synthes, targeting completion in 2027.

20. 2026Hitachi

    Record Results and Home Appliance Sale

    Hitachi reported record FY2025 profit in April 2026 and agreed to sell 80.1% of its home appliance business to Nojima for about $737 million (¥110 billion).

21. 2026Johnson & Johnson

    Proposed Talc Resolution and Raised Guidance

    J&J raised 2026 sales guidance to about $101.1 billion after Q2 sales of $25.31 billion, and on July 27, 2026 proposed an estimated $5.5 billion resolution of remaining ovarian talc claims.

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