Canon USA has announced the appointment of Isao ‘Sammy’ Kobayashi as president and CEO, effective from 1January, after serving as president and CEO at Canon Canada for the past year. He succeeds Kazuto ‘Kevin’ Ogawa, who returns to Japan for a new assignment following five years at Canon USA where he became president and CEO in April 2020.
Kobayashi began his career with Canon Inc. in 1990 in the photocopier sales division and progressed to assistant manager in the Canon USA inkjet printer group in 2005. He became a vice president in the Imaging technologies and communications group in 2020. In 2021, Kobayashi was chosen to serve as vice president and general manager of the new hybrid-workplace solutions group (HSG). In April 2022, Kobayashi was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of Canon USA and was appointed as an executive officer of Canon Inc., a title he still holds. In January 2023, Kobayashi was named president and CEO of Canon Canada, where he served for one year.
“I am honoured to take on this role as President and CEO of Canon USA and will do my best to continue the hard work of our employees, customers, channel partners, and other stakeholders that have made this company so successful,” said Kobayashi.