Consumer
Suntory Beverage’s First Female CEO Seeks $5 Billion in Drinks Acquisitions
- Less than 13% of executives at Japan-listed firms are women
- Ono sees opportunities as pandemic changes tastes in drinks
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Suntory Beverage and Food Ltd.’s new Chief Executive Makiko Ono, who spent much of her career driving foreign acquisitions as one of the few women working abroad at the company, now seeks to deliver growth via a similar strategy to take advantage of changes in consumer behavior after Covid.
The company is seeking M&A opportunities totaling as much as ¥700 billion ($5.4 billion) over the next few years, the 63-year old, who assumed the top job on March 24, said in an interview. While Suntory’s acquisition strategy is yet to be finalized, the company sees potential in health-related drinks in the US, Asia and regions where Suntory has currently little presence, she said.