An optics expert is now the head of Nikon as the imaging giant shifts executives

Nikon has a new CEO and President – and the imaging giant’s new leader has an extensive background in lenses and optics. On Wednesday, April 1, Yasuhiro Ohmura took the lead role at Nikon as the Representative Director, President, and CEO.

While Ohmura’s most recent position at Nikon was the General Manager of Nikon’s healthcare division, the new CEO’s background is heavily involved in lenses and optics. Ohmura joined Nikon in 1992, just one month after graduating from the Department of Physics at Rikkyo University.

Among the positions that he’s held in the past three decades, he’s held several positions at Nikon’s Optical Engineering Division, stepping into leadership roles beginning in 2019 as the Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Optical Engineering.

“Ohmura played a key role in developing Nikon’s core products, including interchangeable lenses for cameras, microscope objective lenses, and projection lenses for semiconductor lithography systems,” Nikon wrote.

While a CEO with a background in lenses feels like a move that Nikon photographers and videographers will appreciate, the change comes as Nikon didn’t meet its profit goals from its Medium-Term Management Plan. In the latest fiscal report that covered April to December 2025, Nikon reported a 5.6 percent loss in revenue compared to the same time frame the previous year.

Ohmura shared some of the company’s plans in a statement on the executive change: “...we will focus on our financial discipline and balance sheet, generate capacity for growth investments, clearly define our priorities, and allocate resources strategically while remaining mindful of appropriate time horizons.”

Nikon’s previous Representative Director and CEO, Toshikazu Umatate, is now Director, while the previous President, Representative Director and COO Muneaki Tokunari is now Representative Director and Chairman.

Along with the new CEO and President, Nikon’s Muneaki Tokunari is now Representative Director and Chairman.

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