COLUMBUS, Ga., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aflac Incorporated
(NYSE: AFL) today announced the promotion of Takaaki Matsumoto to first
senior vice president; director of marketing and sales for Aflac Japan. In
his new capacity, Matsumoto will have overall responsibility for Aflac
Japan's marketing and sales division, and he will continue to focus on
strategic marketing issues. Previously, Matsumoto was senior vice
president; director of marketing, a position he had held since February
2006. Matsumoto has served in various marketing and sales positions since
joining Aflac Japan in 1975.
Three additional key leadership changes were also announced today, with
each position reporting directly to Matsumoto.
Jun Isonaka was promoted to senior vice president in charge of sales.
Aflac Japan's sales territory directors will report to Isonaka, and he will
oversee the corporate agency and individual/independent sales channels as
well as field training. Isonaka joined Aflac in 1980, has served as one of
Aflac Japan's territory directors, and was most recently responsible for
all contact center operations.
Shigehiko Akimoto, senior vice president, has been charged with
assisting Matsumoto by overseeing Aflac Japan's product development,
marketing strategy, and advertising. Akimoto joined Aflac in 1985 and
served as general manager of the sales planning department. Most recently,
he served as senior vice president, director of the Tokyo territory.
Hisayuki Shinkai, first senior vice president, and previously the
director of sales, will focus on preparing for the sale of Aflac Japan's
products through banks when that channel opens, which is expected at the
end of 2007. Prior to joining Aflac Japan in 1999, Shinkai worked for Long
Term Credit Bank of Japan, Ltd. He joined Aflac as general manager of the
public relations department and has served in various management
capacities. In February 2006, he was named first senior vice president;
director of sales.
Additionally, Aflac Japan today announced an increase in the number of
territory directors, going from seven territory directors to 10. Each
territory director is responsible for managing an average of 10 regional
sales offices, which, in turn, support the training and sales activities of
their associates and agencies.
Commenting on today's announcements, Akitoshi Kan, Aflac Japan
president and chief operating officer, said: "This realignment acknowledges
that there are different aspects to the marketing and sales division,
although they share a common goal -- growing Aflac Japan's new premium
sales. Operating in a challenging market environment, we believe it's most
advantageous to spread the key sales and marketing responsibilities among
three capable people who have extensive experience and talent. At the same
time, it's important to have them report to one individual who has overall
responsibility for sales and marketing and unites their efforts."
Daniel P. Amos, chairman and chief executive officer, added, "Since
Matsumoto-san was promoted to marketing director earlier in the year, he
has demonstrated strong leadership skills and solid insight into the
Japanese market. I believe Matsumoto-san will be well-served by the team he
has assembled. Akimoto-san has extensive marketing and sales experience at
Aflac Japan and a strong understanding of advertising and product
development that will benefit Aflac. In his former position over the Aflac
Contact Center, Isonaka-san significantly increased Aflac Japan's number of
outbound calls to existing customers. These calls not only enhanced our
customer service, but they also generated additional sales. Prior to that,
Isonaka-san was one of our top territory directors. As we prepare for the
opportunity to sell through the bank channel in 2008, Shinkai-san's
expertise has proven to be very valuable in helping us further develop
banking relationships. Shinkai-san began working on bank sales in 2005 and
considering the potential size of the opportunity, we strongly feel the
need to dedicate a qualified point person to develop this important sales
channel.
"The realignment of Aflac Japan's marketing division reflects the fact
that we operate in a dynamic industry. Markets change, and we have to make
sure we are flexible enough to adjust along with them. We believe the
changes that we have announced will help us work more effectively with the
more than 88,000 licensed sales associates that represent Aflac Japan. And
we believe that increasing the number of territory directors will help us
better implement the new agent training initiative we've previously
discussed. As we position ourselves to address the challenges in the
marketplace and grow our business, we continue to believe that Japan
provides a vast market that is very well-suited to the types of products we
sell. In the long run, we believe the need for our products will continue
to grow."
For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the
opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting
medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider
of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number one
insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in
Japan. Aflac's insurance products provide protection to more than 40
million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine's
listing of America's Most Admired Companies for six consecutive years. In
January 2006, Aflac was included in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For in America for the eighth consecutive year. Aflac was
also included in Fortune magazine's list of the Top 50 Employers for
Minorities in August 2005, and in September 2005, Aflac Japan was named the
Life Insurance Company of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards,
sponsored by the Asia Insurance Review. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500
company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find
out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe
harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long
as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are
accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
included in the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of
these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company
officials in oral discussions with the financial community and contained in
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and
relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other
developments. Furthermore, forward- looking information is subject to
numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. In particular, statements
containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal,"
"objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will,"
"assumes," "potential," "target," or similar words as well as specific
projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac
undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
We caution readers that the following factors, in addition to other
factors mentioned from time to time in our reports filed with the SEC,
could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by
the forward-looking statements: legislative and regulatory developments;
assessments for insurance company insolvencies; competitive conditions in
the United States and Japan; new product development and customer response
to new products and new marketing initiatives; ability to attract and
retain qualified sales associates; ability to repatriate profits from
Japan; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese tax laws or accounting requirements;
credit and other risks associated with Aflac's investment activities;
significant changes in investment yield rates; fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; deviations in actual experience from pricing and
reserving assumptions including, but not limited to, morbidity, mortality,
persistency, expenses, and investment yields; level and outcome of
litigation; downgrades in the company's credit rating; changes in rating
agency policies or practices; subsidiary's ability to pay dividends to
parent company; ineffectiveness of hedging strategies used to minimize the
exposure of our shareholders' equity to foreign currency translation
fluctuations; catastrophic events; and general economic conditions in the
United States and Japan.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO )
Analyst and investor contact -- Kenneth S. Janke Jr., 800.235.2667 -
option 3, Fax: 706.324.6330, or kjanke@aflac.com
Media contact -- Laura Kane, 706.596.3493, Fax: 706.320.2288, or
lkane@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.aflac.com/
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Analysts and investors, Kenneth S. Janke Jr.,
+1-800-235-2667, option 3, or fax +1-706-324-6330, or
kjanke@aflac.com, or Media, Laura Kane, +1-706-596-3493, or fax
+1-706-320-2288, or lkane@aflac.com, both of Aflac Incorporated
|
