NEC Corp. on Monday named Akinobu Kanasugi, head of the firm's information technology unit, its next president.

Kanasugi will replace Koji Nishigaki on March 28, following the appointment's expected endorsement at a board meeting earlier in the month, NEC officials said.

Nishigaki, who has led the electronics giant since March 1999, will become vice chairman of the board.