JNR Class ED76
The Class ED76 is a Bo-2-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1965 by Japanese National Railways, by Hokkaido Railway Company, Kyushu Railway Company and Japan Freight Railway Company. As of 1 April 2016, just 10 locomotives remained in service, all operated by JR Freight. ED76-0 ED76-500 ED76-1000 94 class ED76-0 locomotives were built from 1965 to 1976 and numbered ED76 1 to ED76 94; as of 1 April 2016, the remaining fleet consists of two locomotives, ED76 81 and ED76 83, operated by JR Freight. 22 class ED76-500 locomotives were built from 1968 for use in Hokkaido, numbered ED76 501 to ED76 522. These locomotives included larger water and fuel tanks for the train heating steam generator and had accordingly longer bodies, they were intended to be used in pairs, featured cab gangway doors. ED76 514 was modified for used in the Seikan Tunnel and renumbered ED76 551. All ED76-500s except for the unique ED76 551 were withdrawn by 1994.
ED76 551 was withdrawn in 2001. 23 class ED76-1000 locomotives were built from 1970 to 1979 for express freight use and numbered ED76 1001 to ED76 1023. As of 1 April 2016, the remaining fleet consists of eight locomotives, operated by JR Freight; the following examples have been preserved. ED76 1: Kyushu Railway Heritage Museum, ED76 91: Hita Tenryosui no Sato, Oita ED76 505: Mikasa Railway Village, Hokkaido ED76 509: Otaru Transport Museum, Hokkaido ED76 1006: JR Freight Moji Depot The ED76 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. E: Electric locomotive D: Four driving axles 7x: AC locomotive with maximum speed exceeding 85 km/h
Akasaka Sacas
Akasaka Sacas is commercial complex in Akasaka, Japan, where the TBS Broadcasting Center and the site of the "Akasaka 5-chome TBS Development Project" stand. Construction began in February 2005 and the buildings were completed in January 2008. Akasaka Sacas was opened on March 2008, following Akasaka Biz Tower Shops & Dining, it was created for the recreation of the area around the TBS station. Following the creation of TBS broadcasting center in 1994, the akasaka Sacas project was completed after 17 years for the 40th anniversary in 1991. "Sacas Opening Fes" was held from March 20 until April 4, 2008. TBS Broadcasting Center 35°40′18″N 139°44′04″E the headquarters of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc. the headquarters and studio of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. the headquarters and studio of TBS Radio & Communications, Inc. the headquarters and studio of BS-TBS, Inc. the headquarters and studio of C-TBS, Inc. Sacas Hiroba Akasaka Biz Tower 35°40′24″N 139°44′12″E the headquarters of Hakuhodo DY Group Companies the Akasaka headquarters of Universal Music Japan Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Tokyo Branch Office the headquarters of Tokyo Electron Limited SMT Tokyo restaurant by Ikyu Group Akasaka Biz Tower Shops&Dining Akasaka BLITZ Akasaka ACT Theater Akasaka The Residence Roppongi Hills Omotesando Hills "About akasaka Sacas". Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-28. ""akasaka Sacas" – The Brand New Attraction in Akasaka - Completion of "Akasaka Biz Tower", "Akasaka ACT Theater", "Akasaka BLITZ", "Akasaka The Residence"". 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-08-21. ""akasaka Sacas" – The Newest Redevelopment District at Akasaka - 46 shops gather together at "Akasaka Biz Tower SHOPS & DINING" to welcome the Opening on Thursday, March 6, 2008". 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 「赤坂サカス」開業へ－商業施設46店、ライブハウスや劇場も. Roppongi Keizai Shimbun. 2008-03-04. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 赤坂サカス グランドオープン. Sankei News. 2008-03-20. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Official website akasaka Biz Tower website 35°40′22″N 139°44′09″E
Chief executive officer
The chief executive officer or just chief executive, is the most senior corporate, executive, or administrative officer in charge of managing an organization – an independent legal entity such as a company or nonprofit institution. CEOs lead a range of organizations, including public and private corporations, non-profit organizations and some government organizations; the CEO of a corporation or company reports to the board of directors and is charged with maximizing the value of the entity, which may include maximizing the share price, market share, revenues or another element. In the non-profit and government sector, CEOs aim at achieving outcomes related to the organization's mission, such as reducing poverty, increasing literacy, etc. In the early 21st century, top executives had technical degrees in science, engineering or law; the responsibility of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure.
They can be far-reaching or quite limited and are enshrined in a formal delegation of authority. Responsibilities include being a decision maker on strategy and other key policy issues, leader and executor; the communicator role can involve speaking to the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as to the organization's management and employees. As a leader of the company, the CEO or MD advises the board of directors, motivates employees, drives change within the organization; as a manager, the CEO/MD presides over the organization's day-to-day operations. The term refers to the person who makes all the key decisions regarding the company, which includes all sectors and fields of the business, including operations, business development, human resources, etc; the CEO of a company is not the owner of the company. In some countries, there is a dual board system with two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes. In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairman presides over the supervisory board, these two roles will always be held by different people.
This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority; the aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. In the United States, the board of directors is equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may be known as the executive committee. In the United States, in business, the executive officers are the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer being the best-known type; the definition varies. In the case of a sole proprietorship, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. In the case of a partnership, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a limited liability company, executive officer is any manager, or officer. A CEO has several subordinate executives, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities referred to as senior executives, executive officers or corporate officers.
Subordinate executives are given different titles in different organizations, but one common category of subordinate executive, if the CEO is the president, is the vice-president. An organization may have more than one vice-president, each tasked with a different area of responsibility; some organizations have subordinate executive officers who have the word chief in their job title, such as chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief technology officer. The public relations-focused position of chief reputation officer is sometimes included as one such subordinate executive officer, but, as suggested by Anthony Johndrow, CEO of Reputation Economy Advisors, it can be seen as "simply another way to add emphasis to the role of a modern-day CEO – where they are both the external face of, the driving force behind, an organisation culture". In the US, the term chief executive officer is used in business, whereas the term executive director is used in the not-for-profit sector; these terms are mutually exclusive and refer to distinct legal duties and responsibilities.
Implicit in the use of these titles, is that the public not be misled and the general standard regarding their use be applied. In the UK, chief executive and chief executive officer are used in both business and the charitable sector; as of 2013, the use of the term director for senior charity staff is deprecated to avoid confusion with the legal duties and responsibilities associated with being a charity director or trustee, which are non-executive roles. In the United Kingdom, the term director is used instead of chief officer". Business publicists since the days of Edward Bernays and his client John D. Rockefeller and more the corporate publicists for Henry Ford, promoted the concept of the "celebrity CEO". Business journalists have adopted this approach, which assumes that the corporate achievements in the arena of manufacturing, wer
Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr, is a publicly listed, multinational corporation with 45 subsidiary companies in over 30 countries and headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Landis + Gyr makes related software for electricity and gas utilities. Landis+Gyr was known as Electrotechnisches Institut Theiler and Company, established on September 11, 1905, it was renamed Landis & Gyr, after Heinrich Landis and Karl Heinrich Gyr, who followed founder Richard Theiler as managers. Landis+Gyr designs and manufactures a range of metering products and services for electricity and gas for energy utilities around the world. In 1924, Landis + Gyr opened its first overseas offices in New Australia. Besides metering products, with the founding of Cerberus Limited in 1940, Landis+Gyr expanded into fire safety products. Cerberus was acquired by Elektrowatt Limited and is today a part of Siemens Building Technologies; the company was known for producing optical phone cards until 2006. Landys+Gyr phone cards were used in many countries such as Israel, Belgium and more.
1976 – Landis+Gyr acquired Duncan Electric Company of Lafayette, Indiana. 1987 – Landis+Gyr acquired MCC Powers of Chicago. MCC Powers had by been a long established entity in the US building management market. Spurred by the liberalization and deregulation of global markets, Landis+Gyr re-oriented its business, adding electronic products. Late 1990s – In the late 1990s, Landis+Gyr went through a series of different investors and owners, amongst them Elektrowatt, KKR and Siemens. 2004 – Landis+Gyr was acquired by Australia-based Bayard Capital for an undisclosed amount. Bayard Capital had acquired the British metering company Ampy Automation-Digilog; as Bayard Capital continued to add other acquisitions to the group, 2008 saw the Landis+Gyr name being extended to the whole group in May 2008. An organizational realignment took place under Bayard Capital's ownership; the company moved to a regional structure, assigning regional corporate structures for North America. 2006 – Landis+Gyr acquired Finnish Enermet Group, Hunt Technologies and Cellnet Technologies, both of which are from the United States of America.
2011 – Landis+Gyr was acquired by Toshiba Corporation of Japan for US$2.3 billion. 2017 – On July 21, 2017, Landis+Gyr listed its shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Various utilities have worked with Landis+Gyr in meeting their consumers' demand for energy management tools by rolling out smart meters. Below are some of the utilities that have worked with Landis+Gyr in deploying smart metering technology to energy consumers. Europe, Middle East & Africa: British Gas. ON. Asia Pacific: Energex. North America: Oncor Energy. South America: Copel. Smart metering is opposed by some, as a developer of such meters, Landis+Gyr is met with criticism. In 2016, Phil Mocek of MuckRock started investigating a project. After Mocek received the requested information, Landis+Gyr followed up by filing a lawsuit demanding the documentation not be made public
Virgin Records
Virgin Records Ltd. is a British record label founded by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, musician Tom Newman in 1972. It grew to be a worldwide phenomenon over time, with the success of platinum performers such as George Michael, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Roy Orbison, Tangerine Dream, Keith Richards, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, dc Talk, the Smashing Pumpkins, Mike Oldfield and Spice Girls, among others. After its acquisition by Universal Music Group through its purchase of EMI in 2012, UMG absorbed Virgin's British operations to create Virgin EMI Records in March 2013. Today, the operations of Virgin Records America, Inc. the company's North American operations founded in 1986, are still active and headquartered in Hollywood and have operated under the Capitol Music Group imprint owned by UMG, since 2007. The US operations have taken on the name Virgin Records. A minor number of artists remain on Virgin Records America's roster, mostly occupied with European artists such as Bastille, Circa Waves, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ella Eyre, Walking on Cars, Seinabo Sey, Prides.
Branson and Powell had run a small record shop called Virgin Records and Tapes on Notting Hill Gate, specializing in "krautrock" imports, offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to the music on offer. The first real store was above a shoe shop at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street. After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fledged record label; the name Virgin, according to Branson, arose from Tessa Watts, a colleague of his, when they were brainstorming business ideas. She suggested Virgin – as they were all new to business – like "virgins"; the original Virgin logo was designed by English artist and illustrator Roger Dean: a young naked woman in mirror image with a large long-tailed serpent and the word "Virgin" in Dean's familiar script. A variation on the logo was used for the spin-off Caroline Records label; the first release on the label was the progressive rock album Tubular Bells by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, discovered by Tom Newman and brought to Simon Draper – who persuaded Richard and Nik to present it as their first release in 1973, produced by Tom Newman, for which the fledgling label garnered unprecedented acclaim.
This was soon followed by some notable krautrock releases, including electronic breakthrough album Phaedra by Tangerine Dream, The Faust Tapes and Faust IV by Faust. The Faust Tapes album retailed for 49p and as a result allowed this unknown band to reach number 12 in the album charts. Other early albums include Gong's Flying Teapot, which Daevid Allen has been quoted as having never been paid for; the first single release for the label was Kevin Coyne's "Marlene", taken from his album Marjory Razorblade and released in August 1973. Coyne was the second artist signed to the label after Oldfield. Although Virgin was one of the key labels of English and European progressive rock, the 1977 signing of the Sex Pistols reinvented the label as a new-wave outpost, a move that plunged the record company into the mainstream of the punk rock era. Under the guidance of Tessa Watts, Virgin's Head of Publicity, the Pistols rocketed the label to success. Shortly afterwards, the Nottingham record shop was raided by police for having a window display of the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in the window.
Afterwards they signed other new wave groups: Public Image Ltd, Culture Club, Gillan and the Italians, Human League, Skids, the Motors, the Ruts, Shooting Star, Simple Minds, XTC. After modified versions of the twins label came the red and blue design introduced in 1975, which coincided with the height of punk and new wave; the current Virgin logo was created in 1978, commissioned by Simon Draper managing director of Virgin Records Limited. Brian Cooke of Cooke Key Associates commissioned a graphic designer to produce a stylised signature; the logo was first used on Mike Oldfield's Incantations album in 1978 and by the Virgin Records label until other parts of the Virgin Group adopted it, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Money. In 1983 Virgin purchased Charisma Records, renaming it Charisma/Virgin later Virgin/Charisma, before folding the label in 1986 and transferring its remaining artists to Virgin. In the process they acquired comedy group Monty Python; the Charisma label was reactivated in the US in 1990 and enjoyed success with signings such as Maxi Priest, Right Said Fred, 38 Special and Enigma.
When this Charisma label was retired in 1992, all of its artists were, as before, transferred to Virgin. In 1987, Venture Records was created for new age and modern classical artists including Klaus Schulze, associated with Virgin since the early 1970s. 10 Records Immortal Records Delabel Caroline Records was a budget label used from 1973 to 1977. The name and
Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include information technology and communications equipment and systems, electronic components and materials, power systems and social infrastructure systems, consumer electronics, household appliances, medical equipment, office equipment, as well as lighting and logistics. Toshiba was founded in 1939 as Tokyo Shibaura Denki K. K. through the merger of Shibaura Seisaku-sho and Tokyo Denki. The company name was changed to Toshiba Corporation in 1978, it is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices, the Osaka Securities Exchange and the Nagoya Stock Exchange. Toshiba is the ninth largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. In 2017, Toshiba filed unaudited quarterly results because of uncertainties at Westinghouse, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Toshiba stated that "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern exists".
Toshiba is organized into four groupings: the Digital Products Group, the Electronic Devices Group, the Home Appliances Group and the Social Infrastructure Group. Midea Group, a Chinese company, bought a controlling 80.1% stake in the Toshiba Home Appliances Group in 2016. Toshiba was founded in 1939 by the merger of Tokyo Denki. Shibaura Seisakusho had been founded as Tanaka Seisakusho by Tanaka Hisashige in July 1875 as Japan's first manufacturer of telegraph equipment. In 1904, it was renamed Shibaura Seisakusho. Through the first decades of the 20th century, Shibaura Seisakusho had become a major manufacturer of heavy electrical machinery as Japan modernized during the Meiji Era and became a world industrial power. Tokyo Denki was founded as Hakunetsusha in 1890 and had been Japan's first producer of incandescent electric lamps, it diversified into the manufacture of other consumer products and in 1899 had been renamed Tokyo Denki. The merger of Shibaura and Tokyo Denki created, it was soon nicknamed Toshiba, but it was not until 1978 that the company was renamed Toshiba Corporation.
The group expanded driven by a combination of organic growth and by acquisitions, buying heavy engineering and primary industry firms in the 1940s and 1950s. Groups created include Toshiba Music Industries/Toshiba EMI, Toshiba International Corporation Toshiba Electrical Equipment, Toshiba Chemical, Toshiba Lighting and Technology, Toshiba America Information Systems and Toshiba Carrier Corporation. Toshiba is responsible for a number of Japanese firsts, including radar, the TAC digital computer, transistor television and microwave oven, color video phone, Japanese word processor, MRI system, laptop personal computer, NAND EEPROM, DVD, the Libretto sub-notebook personal computer and HD DVD. In 1977, Toshiba acquired the Brazilian company Semp, subsequently forming Semp Toshiba through the combination of the two companies' South American operations. In 1987, Tocibai Machine, a subsidiary of Toshiba, was accused of illegally selling CNC milling machines used to produce quiet submarine propellers to the Soviet Union in violation of the CoCom agreement, an international embargo on certain countries to COMECON countries.
The Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The incident strained relations between the United States and Japan, resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two senior executives, as well as the imposition of sanctions on the company by both countries. Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania said "What Toshiba and Kongsberg did was ransom the security of the United States for $517 million." In 2001, Toshiba signed a contract with Orion Electric, one of the world's largest OEM consumer video electronic makers and suppliers, to manufacture and supply finished consumer TV and video products for Toshiba to meet the increasing demand for the North American market. The contract ended in 2008. In December 2004, Toshiba announced it would discontinue manufacturing traditional in-house cathode-ray tube televisions. In 2006, Toshiba terminated production of in-house plasma TVs. To ensure its future competitiveness in the flat-panel digital television and display market, Toshiba has made a considerable investment in a new kind of display technology called SED.
Before World War II, Toshiba was a member of the Mitsui Group zaibatsu. Today Toshiba is a member of the Mitsui keiretsu, still has preferential arrangements with Mitsui Bank and the other members of the keiretsu. Membership in a keiretsu has traditionally meant loyalty, both corporate and private, to other members of the keiretsu or allied keiretsu; this loyalty can extend as far as the beer which in Toshiba's case is Asahi. In July 2005, BNFL confirmed it planned to sell Westinghouse Electric Company estimated to be worth $1.8 billion. The bid attracted interest from several companies including Toshiba, General Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and when the Financial Times reported on 23 January 2006 that Toshiba had won the bid, it valued the company's offer at $5 billion; the sale of Westinghouse by the Government of the United Kingdom surp
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American global music corporation, a subsidiary of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. UMG's global corporate headquarters are located in California, it is considered one of the "Big Three" record labels, along with Warner Music Group. Since 2004, the corporation is no longer related to the film studio Universal Studios. Universal Music was once the record company attached to film studio Universal Pictures; the company's origins go back to the formation of the American branch of Decca Records in September 1934. The Decca Record Co. Ltd. of England spun American Decca off in 1939. MCA Inc. merged with American Decca in 1962. In November 1990, Japanese multinational conglomerate Matsushita Electric agreed to acquire MCA for $6.59 billion. In 1995, Seagram acquired 80 percent of MCA from Matsushita. On December 9, 1996, the company was renamed Universal Studios, Inc. and its music division was renamed Universal Music Group. In May 1998, Seagram purchased PolyGram and merged it with Universal Music Group in early 1999.
With the 2004 acquisition of Universal Studios by General Electric and merging with GE's NBC, Universal Music Group was cast under separate management from the eponymous film studio. This is the second time a music company has done so, the first being the separation of Time Warner and Warner Music Group. In February 2006, the label became 100 percent owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi when Vivendi purchased the last 20 percent from Matsushita. On June 25, 2007, Vivendi completed its €1.63 billion purchase of BMG Music Publishing, after receiving European Union regulatory approval, having announced the acquisition on September 6, 2006. Doug Morris stepped down from his position as CEO on January 1, 2011. Former chairman/CEO of Universal Music International Lucian Grainge was promoted to CEO of the company. Grainge replaced him as chairman on March 9, 2011. Morris became the next chairman of Sony Music Entertainment on July 1, 2011. With Grainge's appointment as CEO at UMG, Max Hole was promoted to COO of UMGI, effective July 1, 2010.
Starting in 2011 UMG's Interscope Geffen A&M Records will be signing contestants from American Idol/Idol series. On January 2011, UMG announced it was donating 200,000 master recordings from the 1920s to 1940s to the Library of Congress for preservation. In March 2011, Barry Weiss became chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Republic Records. Both companies were restructured under Weiss. In December 2011, David Foster was named Chairman of Verve Music Group. In 2011, EMI sold its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group for £1.2 billion and its music publishing operations to a Sony-led consortium for $2.2 billion. Among the other companies that had competed for the recorded music business was Warner Music Group, reported to have made a $2 billion bid. IMPALA opposed the merger. In March 2012, the European Union opened an investigation into the acquisition The EU asked rivals and consumer groups whether the deal would result in higher prices and shut out competitors.
On September 21, 2012, the sale of EMI to UMG was approved in Europe and the United States by the European Commission and Federal Trade Commission respectively. However, the European Commission approved the deal only under the condition the merged company divest one third of its total operations to other companies with a proven track record in the music industry. UMG divested Mute Records, Roxy Recordings, MPS Records, Cooperative Music, Now That's What I Call Music!, Universal Greece, Sanctuary Records, Chrysalis Records, EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, EMI's European regional labels to comply with this condition. UMG retained The Beatles and Robbie Williams; the Beatles catalogue was transferred to UMG's newly formed Calderstone Productions, while Williams' catalogue was transferred to Island Records. Universal Music Group completed their acquisition of EMI on September 28, 2012. In November 2012, Steve Barnett was appointed CEO of Capitol Music Group, he served as COO of Columbia Records. In compliance the conditions of the European Commission after purchase of EMI, Universal Music Group sold the Mute catalogue to the German-based BMG Rights Management on December 22, 2012.
Two months BMG acquired Sanctuary Records for €50 million. On November 8, 2012, Universal Music and Hewlett-Packard launched a marketing operation that allows customers with an HP computer with HP Connected Music software to access music from Universal artists, as well as exclusive content. On February 8, 2013, Warner Music Group acquired the Parlophone Label Group for $765 million. In February, Sony Music Entertainment acquired Universal's European share in Now That's What I Call Music for $60 million. Play It Again Sam acquired Co-Operative Music for £500,000 in March 2013. With EMI's absorption into Universal Music complete, its British operations will consist of five label units: Island, Decca, Virgin EMI and Capitol. In April 2013, Universal Music Greece was sold to Victoras Antippas, who renamed the company Cobalt Music. Edel AG acquired the MPS catalogue from Universal in January 2014. On March 20, 2013, UMG announced the worldwide extension of their exclusive distribution deal with the Disney Music Group, excluding Japan and Russia.
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