Orix Corp.'s Yoshihiko Miyauchi is a name likely to be seen on a list of well-known Japanese business leaders.

But unlike other charismatic businesspeople such as Masayoshi Son, Kazuo Inamori and Hiroshi Mikitani, who are also founders of their firms, Miyauchi started his career as a company worker — a salaryman.

From there he climbed the corporate ladder, headed Orix for about 34 years, and turned what used to be a small leasing startup into a financial conglomerate with a market value of about ¥2.5 trillion.