Fuji Chemical names new chairman, president

Burlington-based Fuji Chemical Industries USA, a subsidiary of Fuji Chemical Industries Japan, has announced a pair of leadership changes.

Company President Charles DePrince has been promoted to chairman, and Vice President Yasuko Kuroda has been named president to replace him. The changes are effective April 1.

“(I am) honored and excited to accept the new role,” she said in a prepared statement. “I have been marketing Fuji’s excipients for 20 years. It is so wonderful to see the business grow every year. I see tremendous potential for our business and I look forward to leading the company with Mr. DePrince’s guidance.”

Kuroda, who joined Fuji Japan in 1997, transferred to the U.S. the same year to help establish the American headquarters. Now, she will lead continued market penetration and growth of the company and its brands. Fuji Chemical specializes in spray-drying solutions and high-performance excipients, which are substances that serve as the vehicle for the active substance in a drug or other product.

“The choice for the new president of Fuji USA could not be better than that of Yasuko Kuroda,” DePrince said in a statement. “She has the depth of knowledge and experience needed for our excipients. As chairman, I give her my fullest support.”