Mitsubishi Electric Corporation named Kenichiro Yamanishi as the company’s new president and CEO, and is scheduled to assume his new position on April 1, 2010. Yamanishi will be replacing Setsuhiro Shimomura, who will then be appointed to the new position of chairman.

Yamanishi was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1951. Joining Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1975, he first served as a researcher in the company’s Applied Equipment Laboratory. He became Mitsubishi Electric’s executive officer and group president of corporate total productivity management & environmental programs in 2006. In 2008, Yamanishi was promoted to his former position of senior executive officer and group president of Semiconductor & Device.

Shimomura was born in 1945 in Tottori Prefecture. He joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1969, and was first named to Mitsubishi Electric’s board of directors in 2001. In 2004, he became executive vice president and group president of Building Systems. Shimomura was promoted to the position of president and CEO in 2006.