Akira Ichii
Akira has been with Croda since 1999.
Innovation you can build on™
Innovation you can build on™
May 1999
Following the completion of a Master’s Degree in Agriculture, I started my professional career at a pharmaceutical company as a researcher. Three years later in 1999, I decided to move to Croda Japan since I was eager to be a part of biomass product development.
September 2003
I was in charge of product development including fundamental research and commercialisation of new products. In my role, I frequently visited healthcare business customers with our sales representatives in order to present our technology and products. The close interactions with customers made me realise the potential value of our products and piqued my interest in joint development projects.
February 2010
My big career change arose in 2010 when I was transferred to the Sales Department based in Tokyo. I was responsible for expanding the Health Care business especially in pharmaceutical field in line with the company’s strategy. Product promotions are not so easy in the pharmaceutical field because of statutory regulations, as it usually takes 10 years to launch new medicines. In my role, I had to develop and strengthen my relationships with customers. After considering our product features, I decided to focus my efforts on topical agents and plasters. This established the foundation for future business deals.
January 2013
I was promoted to a Sales Manager for Health Care and Crop Care in 2013 and it was a time to harvest the fruits of the efforts for the past 10 years. I successfully fulfilled Health Care business expansion in the plaster market in Japan and now I am looking at developing the overseas market with this expertise. In addition, I am responsible for training and developing the younger staff.