Olympus Corp. has proposed an 11-member board to replace President Shuichi Takayama and other directors in light of the camera maker's 13-year coverup of investment losses.
Hiroyuki Sasa, 56, head of marketing at the medical systems unit that is now the biggest earner at Olympus, was nominated president, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement Monday.
Shareholders will vote in April on the nominees, who include Yasuyuki Kimoto, a former executive at main creditor Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.
Overseas investors, including Southeastern Asset Management Inc. and Harris Associates LP, have criticized the role of current executives in proposing a new board, arguing there needs to be a clean sweep of management to restore confidence. An outside panel in December reported a culture of "yes men" at Olympus that failed to stop senior executives funneling money through offshore vehicles to hide the losses.
"A new management drawn from internal officials and a former banker wouldn't look likely to ring significant changes at Olympus," Yoshikazu Higurashi, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in Tokyo, said before the announcement.
Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the new board April 20. While Memphis, Tennessee-based Southeastern, with a reported holding of 5.1 percent of Olympus stock, and Chicago-based Harris, which holds about 4 percent, according to filings, may oppose the proposed board, no alternative candidates have emerged as yet.