CENTER VALLEY, Pa., May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Olympus
Corporation of the Americas (OCA) today announced that F. Mark
Gumz, President and Chief Executive Officer, will retire from the
company effective May 31. Karl Watanabe, current OCA Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, will be promoted to
President – Corporate, OCA. In this new role, Watanabe will
report to Michael C. Woodford, Olympus Corporation President and
Chief Operating Officer, who will become the Chief Executive of OCA
in addition to his role as Chairman.
“I’ve always admired individuals who know when it’s time to move
on. This is the right time for me. Over the last few months,
we’ve put in place new leadership in our businesses. We have made
progress but there is more work to do and the new leadership is
best positioned to execute the plans,” Gumz stated. “As rewarding
as I’ve found my nearly 20 years at Olympus, which represents half
of my career, there are still some things I want to do in my life.
I’m announcing my decision now so that I can pursue those
possibilities.”
Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, Chairman and CEO of Olympus Corporation,
Tokyo, the parent company of OCA, said, “Under Mark’s strong
leadership, the company has developed and grown, serving the needs
of our customers not only in the U.S. market, but also those in
Canada and the important and rapidly developing markets in Latin
America. I would like to publicly express my sincere thanks to
Mark, on behalf of myself and my Board colleagues, for his
considerable contribution to Olympus over the years.”
In addition to his role as CEO, to which he was appointed on
April 1, 2008, Gumz is President and Chief Operating Officer of
Olympus America Inc., to which he was appointed on January 1, 2000.
In 2008 he was named an Executive Officer of Olympus Corporation,
the first American to achieve this distinction, and serves in the
Global Management Office for the parent company. He was m
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