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CyberAgent to Appoint Takahiro Yamauchi as New President After Founder Susumu Fujita Steps Down

Advertising and media company CyberAgent announced last Friday that its current representative director, president, and co-founder Susumu Fujita will step down as president, and that it will appoint senior managing executive officer Takahiro Yamauchi as president. The appointment is set to be formally approved at the company's annual shareholder's meeting on December 12, and the subsequent board of directors meeting. Fujita will remain in the company as representative director and chairman of the board.

Fujita announced in 2022 that he intended to step down as president of the company, and began training a successor for president that would take over by 2026.

The company also revealed in its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending in September 2025 that it has recorded an extraordinary loss (a corporate/accounting term for a one-time loss outside of typical business operations) of 727 million yen (about US$4.70 million) as a result of the settlement of its lawsuit with Konami Digital Entertainment regarding CyberAgent subsidiary Cygames' Uma Musume Pretty Derby game.

Fujita co-founded CyberAgent alongside Yūsuke Hidaka (current executive vice president) in March 1998. Fujita has remained the company's president since its founding.

CyberAgent established Cygames in 2011, and the company has produced games such as Rage of Bahamut and Granblue Fantasy. Cygames established an anime division in March 2015 and the anime production subsidiary Cygames Pictures in April 2016. The company has worked on anime productions inspired by its games including Rage of Bahamut Genesis, Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul, Granblue Fantasy the Animation, and Uma Musume Pretty Derby.

CyberAgent and Cygames established the CA-Cygames Anime Fund in June 2017. The fund has allowed both companies to invest in anime production committees, acquire streaming rights, and acquire game adaptation rights. Some of the anime in which the fund has invested include Hinomaru Zumō, Zombie Land Saga, and As Miss Beelzebub Likes.

Kadokawa Corporation formed a capital alliance with CyberAgent, Inc. and Sony in February 2021 with the goals to strengthen the Global Media Mix Strategy to expand Kadokawa's IPs worldwide, and to cooperate with CyberAgent and Sony for "mutual exploitation of each other's business, expertise, and other strengths."

CyberAgent acquired stage production company Nelke Planning in June 2023. The company acquired the creative company Nitroplus in June 2024. CyberAgent established the new anime studio CA Soa, headed by former Sunrise producer Masakazu Ogawa (Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Gundam Build Fighters, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) on January 10. CyberAgent established Studio Kurm, a new anime production studio, on October 1

Sources: CyberAgent (link 2, link 3) via Yaraon!

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.