The Last President Koyata Iwasaki was the fourth and last
president of a unified Mitsubishi. He took Mitsubishi public and
turned the company into a giant corporate group centered on
heavy and chemical industries. Koyata also articulated the
business principles that continue to guide Mitsubishi companies
today. The eldest son of Mitsubishi's second president, Yanosuke
Iwasaki, Koyata was born in Tokyo in 1879. He proved his ability
early, getting high marks in elementary school and subsequently.
He entered the University of Tokyo, but dropped out in his first
year to study in England at the University of Cambridge's
Pembroke College. There, he occupied himself with history,
geography, sociology, and other subjects, earning a Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1905. Koyata also gained an introduction at
Cambridge to idealistic British concepts of social reform, which
later influenced his approach to management. Koyata became vice
president of Mitsubishi on his return from study abroad. He
assumed the presidency in 191