Kunio Egashira (江頭 邦雄 Egashira Kunio, October 1, 1937[1] - April 7, 2008) was the Japanese chairman of Ajinomoto, a Japanese food company which specializes in seasoning and flavorings.
Egashira was born in Nagasaki Prefecture and graduated from Hitotsubashi University with a degree in economics.[1]
Egashira became president of Ajinomoto in June 1997.[2] He pushed through a very aggressive array of business reforms as president. He realignment Ajinomoto to focus on growith areas within the food industry, with an emphasis on amino acid technology.[2]
Egashira became president following a scandal at the company. His predecessor stepped down as president to take over the managerial responsibility at Ajinomoto.[2] Two company officials were indicted for making illegal payments to corporate racketeers.[2]
Egashira became chairman of the company in June 2005.[2]
Kunio Egashira died on April 7, 2008, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70.[2]