Systems integrator NEC Australia and New Zealand has revealed chief executive Mitsuhiro Murooka has left the company after close to three years in charge of the company’s local operations.
Murooka, who will join NEC Corporation’s Tokyo headquarters in a senior vice president role, will be replaced by chairman Mike Mrdak starting on 1 April this year.
Speaking on his departure, Murooka said the change in leadership will help continue NEC’s growth and drive its strategy forward.
“The last two and a half years NEC has made excellent progress and seen substantial growth across our business. We have solidified our commitment to the development of Western Sydney through various MoU partnerships, strengthened our relationship with key government and enterprise customers and expanded our innovative, market-leading product offerings,” Murooka said.
“Throughout this time Mike has played a key role in developing NEC’s long-term growth strategy, and I am delighted he will continue to lead NEC Australia and New Zealand into the future.”
Mrdak will take the roles of executive chair and chief executive for ANZ. He was hired in June 2020 as the company’s first non-executive chair following a career in the public sector.
“This is a very exciting time to be given the opportunity to lead NEC ANZ. We have a strong strategy in place and lots of momentum that will no doubt bring continued successes for the business and our customers,” Mrdak said.
“Mr Murooka has been an outstanding leader and his passion and dedication through a difficult time in the Australian market has yielded incredible results. I look forward to working closely with the teams in Australia and New Zealand to continue that success into the future.”
Mrdak had been in the Australian public service for some 30 years, including roles like secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Media and The Arts and secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. He has also held Deputy Secretary roles at both the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Transport and Regional Services.
Mrdak was hired in 2020 as part of NEC’s plan to broaden its Government business and leverage his Canberra base to be close to those clients.
Murooka arrived in Australia in 2019 after NEC restructured the company to align more closely with NEC Japan, replacing Mike Barber at the time.
Murooka is a long-time NEC veteran, first joining the company’s Tokyo offices in 1986. He later worked at NEC’s Hong Kong, Shanghai and Santa Clara, California offices in various global sales and marketing management roles before returning to Japan in 2016 as NEC Japan vice president.