Mr Mikihiko Maeno (61), President and CEO of OKI Printing Solutions (the brand name for Oki Data Corporation), has been appointed to the Oki Electric Board of Directors, effective from June 29, 2006.

Maeno’s career at Oki spans 39 years, and he is currently responsible for OKI Printing Solutions’ overall sales, marketing, research and development programs, and for its global manufacturing affiliates. He was also a driving force in establishing OKI Printing Solutions’ integrated global strategy, which was instrumental in aligning the company’s global identity.

Speaking on his appointment Maeno says “I am confident that this new role will give me a greater insight into the business technology industry as a whole, which can only strengthen my leadership of OKI Printing Solutions as the foremost challenger brand in the global business printing market,” he said.

Maeno graduated from Kyoto University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He then started his career as a mechanical engineer at Oki Electric, where for the next 20 years he played a key role in leading the company’s technology and product development for printers, banking terminals and other peripherals.

Maeno has gained strong international experience whilst working for Oki, with his first overseas placement in 1981 as Vice President of Engineering at Oki Data Americas in Mt Laurel, NJ. It was in this role that Maeno helped drive the early prominence of OKI Printing Solutions’ dot matrix business in the US market place. His second placement in the US, from 1991 to 1993, involved the initiation of the workstation and software business at Marlboro, MA. Maeno was also integral in establishing Scotland’s manufacturing operation in 1987.

In 1999, Maeno was promoted to the position of Corporate Director at Oki Electric, with responsibility for manufacturing operations at the Takasaki Plant. He was then appointed Managing Director of AdTech, a subsidiary of OKI Electric, in 2001, to provide support and service for Oki’s products.

In October 2002, Maeno returned to Oki Data Corporation as Managing Director, and by February 2003 he was promoted to Senior Managing Director. He has been President and CEO for Oki Data Corporation since April 2004.

OKI Printing Solutions is a global business-to-business brand represented in 120 countries worldwide, and is dedicated to creating professional printed communications products, applications and services for today’s businesses. Its parent company, Oki Electric, was founded in Japan in 1881 and quickly became the first successful telecommunications manufacturer in Japan.