Japan's Panasonic announces a new chief at its group company as its profits barely hold up

Japanese electronics and technology company Panasonic has chosen a new chief at a group company after eking out a 1.2% rise in its first quarter profit. The company said Wednesday that Kenneth William Sain, a former Boeing executive and an American, will replace Yasuyuki Higuchi as its president and chief executive at Panasonic Connect in April 2026. Sain joined Panasonic in 2019 and has successfully led the company’s connected business. Panasonic Holdings Corp.’s net profit in April-June totaled 71.46 billion yen, or $483 million. Its quarterly sales fell 10.6%. The Osaka-based maker of home appliances, solar panels and batteries for Tesla vehicles kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged at 310 billion yen ($2.1 billion), down 15% from the previous year.