Olympus Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors named Michael C. Woodford to serve as the company’s president. Woodford will assume the office of President and Executive Officer on April 1, 2011, and upon the resolution passed at the annual shareholders meeting and the Board of Directors meeting set to be held on June 29, will assume the office of Representative Director and President.

The current Representative Director and President, Tsuyoshi Kikukawa will assume the position of Representative Director and Chairman as of April 1, 2011.

Olympus is presently transforming itself into a more globally competitive company, in accordance with the 2010 Corporate Strategic Plan (March 2011 – March 2015) with the management slogan of “Advancing to the Next Stage of Globalization.” These new appointments are being made to reinforce the business infrastructure for global management, and to accelerate the execution of strategies that are outlined in the 2010 Corporate Strategic Plan. Businesses in all the segments, Medical, Life Science, Industrial, Imaging, and Information and Communications and New Business Development, will continue to respond flexibly to the changing market environment and customer needs in each key region of the world, but at the same time, will operate under the same management rules, information management system, and operation system that are shared by all the members of the Olympus group, and will aim toward building a business foundation that is more flexible and effective.

Michael C. Woodford joined the sales department of KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd., a British subsidiary of Olympus , and in 1991 at the age of 30, became Managing Director, leading the company to grow rapidly. In 2004, he became a board member of Olympus Medical Systems Corp., and in 2005 was appointed Executive Managing Director of Olympus Medical Systems Europa GmbH, where he made drastic reforms to strengthen the organization, thereby increasing revenues. Also during this time, he was also responsible for Olympus’ Surgical and Industrial businesses in America. He later became Executive Managing Director of Olympus Europa Holding GmbH, and consolidated all the businesses of Olympus in Europe. At the same time, as an Executive Officer of Olympus Corporation, he pushed forward the global strategies of the Olympus group under the leadership of the current Representative Director and President, Tsuyoshi Kikukawa.

Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, the new Representative Director and Chairman commented “Michael C. Woodford, who has successfully consolidated businesses in Europe, despite its diverse cultures, customs and markets, has pushed forward reforms in business structure and processes, always with a global perspective. He has achieved a great deal for Olympus Corporation. I firmly believe that his experience and knowledge, as well as his strong leadership, will be vital for our corporation in advancing to the next stage of globalization. As Chairman, I intend to support the new president and work closely with him, in order to achieve effective management and decision making.”

Michael C. Woodford, the new President and Executive Officer, said “I feel very honored to take the post of leading the Olympus group, which has presence not only in Japan but all over the world. In order to meet the expectations of all our stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, cooperating companies, and customers, I plan to work with the current president, Mr. Kikukawa, to fulfill our strategic plan for the growth and rapid progress of our company. By reinforcing our management organization and production structure on a global basis, we aim to increase our competitiveness and maximize our corporate value.”