Yuki Kusumi on innovation
From Yuki Kusumi, Panasonic Holdings Corporation CEO · · KSHB 41
“Panasonic's founder Konoske Matusha saw a need. Bicycles were common, but safe riding was not. So he went beyond inventing the lamp. He innovated creating the Excel drive battery. This new battery and its special assembly method provided us 30 hours of operations while others at the time managed only two or three hours. It was a small product with a big impact.”
On , Yuki Kusumi, Group Chief Executive Officer, President & Representative Director at Panasonic Corporation, spoke about innovation during Yuki Kusumi, Panasonic Holdings Corporation CEO on KSHB 41.
About Yuki Kusumi
Yuki Kusumi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Holdings Corporation, has overseen a period of significant corporate restructuring and expansion. In May 2025, Panasonic announced a workforce reduction of approximately 10,000 employees, primarily in sales and administrative divisions, as part of group management reforms. Kusumi stated he would forgo 40% of his remuneration for the fiscal year in response to the restructuring. The company also announced it was considering withdrawing from or discontinuing certain businesses, including its television operations. In July 2025, Kusumi spoke at the grand opening of Panasonic's electric vehicle battery facility in De Soto, Kansas, which he described as the largest private investment in Kansas history. He stated the facility has an initial annual production capacity target of approximately 32 gigawatt hours and said the company aims to work with U.S. partners to establish a more circular and domestic supply chain for battery materials. At CES 2025, Kusumi outlined Panasonic's strategic initiatives, including the "Panasonic Go" growth initiative, under which he said 30% of the company's revenue would be generated through software and AI-enabled solutions by 2035. He announced a global partnership with Anthropic to integrate its Claude large language model into Panasonic's consumer offerings and internal operations. Kusumi also discussed the company's sustainability goals, including a commitment to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions across all operations by 2030 and to reduce total emissions by more than 300 million tons by 2050. He highlighted the company's work on the Panasonic HX renewable energy solution and a partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in the UK to explore net-zero energy at public sites.