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| STARTO ENTERTAINMENT Announces New President Katsuaki Suzuki as Atsushi Fukuda Steps Down |
After wrapping up his contract, Atsushi Fukuda is stepping down from his role as president and CEO of STARTO. It’s very much on his own terms, and the company noted that his term had naturally run its course.
Stepping into the spotlight as the new president is Katsuaki Suzuki — a seasoned media veteran who’s worked as an advisor for various companies in recent years, and before that served as president of Television Nishinippon Corporation. If you’ve ever watched the iconic Fuji TV morning show Mezamashi TV, you’ve seen Suzuki’s fingerprints on it — he was actually its first producer back in the day.
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The company, originally formed to support talent coming over from the former Johnny’s office (SMILE-UP.), posted the announcement on its official site after the annual shareholders’ meeting on 27 June.
Suzuki, in a welcoming message, pledged to keep up the compliance-focused roadmap Fukuda had built, while also creating fresh entertainment experiences that fans and partners can get excited about.
It’s not just Fukuda making moves — Yoshihiko Inohara is also leaving behind his role as a director. To be fair, that role had been in a bit of a limbo ever since Johnny’s Island was folded into STARTO last year, so Inohara can now go full throttle with his own entertainment gigs, including activities with the 20th Century group.
Meanwhile, Kazuhiro Tatsuki is stepping down from his seat on STARTO’s board of directors. He had come into the role from his previous ties with Fukuda at Speedy, but has now chosen to step back as well.
The new boss, Suzuki, sounded upbeat about the road ahead, promising to steer STARTO with an eye toward building “new value” while keeping fans right at the heart of the business.