Panasonic appoints Seiji Koyanagi as Managing Director for Middle East region

An industry veteran with extensive experience in the Middle East region, Koyanagi's career with Panasonic spans 23 years.

Koyanagi joined Matsushita Electric Japan in 1982, following which he was posted to Dubai as Representative of Matsushita Electric for four years in 1986. In 1992, he was transferred to Kuwait as Chief Representative of Matsushita Electric for a five year term. He was then appointed Manager of the Middle East Section in the Corporate Management Division for CIS, Middle East & Africa in Osaka, Japan in 1997.

Koyanagi then led Alesayi Electronics (Panasonic's sole distributor in KSA) as COO in 2000, and was later promoted to CEO in 2003.

In his new role, Koyanagi will oversee Panasonic's operations in the GCC region, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria.

Commenting on his appointment, Koyanagi said, "I am delighted to head Panasonic's Middle East operations as this is an exciting and competitive market. My years of experience in this multi-cultural and fast-growing region have shown me consumers here are keen to adopt the latest international trends and products and are extremely brand- and quality-conscious."

"Panasonic, with it focus on easy-to-use 'ideas for life' enjoys wide popularity among the region's customers. I look forward to strengthening the Panasonic brand by focusing on our core 3D product line, namely Digital video cameras, Lumix Digital still cameras and PDP (plasma display) televisions. These products represent the future of digital technology, and our primary goal is to ensure that Panasonic continues to maintain its leadership role in this segment," he added.

Panasonic recently announced a new regional marketing strategy for digital products with the introduction of P-MAXX, a futuristic brand mascot.