RAMSEY, N.J., March 21 -- Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announced that Jun Haraguchi has been named President and Chief Executive Officer to succeed Yasuo Matsumoto who returns to Japan to take on a position at Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. Haraguchi, [49], who previously served as Konica Minolta Senior Vice President Corporate Planning, will assume his new position on April 1st. Haraguchi assumes the top position with solid infrastructure in place, a strong brand, and a broad and well-respected product line, including Konica Minolta's bizhub C350, which has received industry-wide accolades. Haraguchi expects to rely on the diversity and technological excellence of Konica Minolta's products, its innovative document imaging solutions, and its recent acquisition of several important business equipment dealers, to continue to expand Konica Minolta's role as a leader in the document production and management industry. During an announcement made to Konica Minolta employees today, Haraguchi said, "It is a great honor for me to take such an important role in Konica Minolta as the industry continues its evolution. With thanks to Mr. Matsumoto's strong leadership and to Konica Minolta employees and partners for their dedication, we have overcome various merger-related challenges and established a very sound base as a strong, unified company. In 2005, we will focus on business growth by introducing a series of new technology-based products and by utilizing our superior engineering capabilities. We will also continue to run faster than our competitors by serving our customers and partners better." Haraguchi, who holds an economics degree from Yokohama University, began his career at Konica Japan and prior to the October 2003 merger between Konica and Minolta was Vice President of Corporate Planning at Konica Business Technologies U.S.A., Inc. During his tenure at Konica, he held various management positions with the parent company in Japan as well as numerous positions with its subsidiaries, including those in Germany and Italy.