One of the world's leading corporate groups involved in both air conditioning and water heating businesses
Global presence of air conditioners centered on North America
Water Heater Market Leader in US and Japan
Hiroaki Kobayashi joined Paloma in April 1992, moving to the U.S. that same year and spending four years at Rheem, the U.S. company Paloma acquired in 1988, where he was actively involved in integrating the two businesses. After returning to Japan, he became a director of Paloma in 1997, and in 1999 added the role of head of the sales planning department to his portfolio of duties. He became a senior managing director in 2002, and president of Paloma in 2005, a position he holds to this day. When Paloma Rheem Holdings was established in October 2023, Hiroaki was appointed president of that entity.
Hiroaki passionately believes in the importance of Paloma and Rheem giving back a portion of their profits to society and, in 2010, established the Paloma Environmental Technology Development Foundation—which provides research grants to academic institutions and sponsors government-led consumer safety campaigns. Hiroaki is also actively involved in personal philanthropy. This includes donating medical equipment to local hospitals and funding several needs-based scholarship programs in Japan.
JR Jones currently serves as Rheem’s Executive Chairman, where he is responsible for Rheem's vision and strategy. He has 40 years of experience in HVAC and water heating general management, product planning and development, strategic leadership, product marketing, and international business management. Prior to being appointed Executive Chairman, JR served as President and CEO of Rheem between 2008-2018. Before his tenure at the helm of Rheem, he held leadership roles as COO and President of both the Air Conditioning and Water Heating Divisions.
Yukimasa Kitano has more than 37 years of experience in the accounting industry, most recently as the partner in charge of audit for KPMG’s US Japanese Practice. He provided financial statement audit, system consulting, performance improvement advisory and due diligence services to numerous global clients in various industries including technology, manufacturing and distributions. After he retired from KPMG in 2023, he became a director of Rheem and Paloma Rheem Holdings.
Takeshi Ebisu has been involved in the HVAC industry for almost 30 years from both a technology and management perspective. As Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Planning at Daikin Industries, he led the execution of global business strategies and major acquisitions, and successfully led Daikin’s Goodman business in the US as President and CEO. Since 2019, he has been providing accurate and thoughtful insights and suggestions on the air conditioning business to various companies around the world, and joined Paloma Rheem Holdings in 2023.
Mayuko Seto has over 20 years of experience as an HR professional, having worked with global companies including GE, MetLife, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. As an energizing leader, she has driven successful organizational change and growth. Before joining Paloma Rheem Holdings in November 2024, she served as the CHRO Senior Corporate Officer at Ricoh Company Ltd.
Hayato Mitsutome brings over 20 years’ experience in M&A to Paloma Rheem Holdings. Hayato joined Paloma Rheem Holdings in March 2024 from LIXIL, a global enterprise that makes pioneering water and housing products, where he served as Senior Vice President, and led M&A and business developments for over 10 years. Prior to joining LIXIL, Hayato spent over 11 years at PwC, where he provided transaction advisory services primarily to private equity funds and multi-national corporates.
Susumu Watanabe led the strategic planning and budgeting for each business division as General Manager of the Corporate Planning Department in Singapore at HOYA Corporation Global Headquarters. He joined Paloma Rheem Holdings in February and assumed current position in August 2024.
Yuichi Watanabe is a lawyer qualified in Japan and New York with over 25 years of experience in domestic and international corporate transactions. Before joining Paloma Rheem Holdings in September 2024, he was a legal director at Amazon Japan responsible for supporting key projects and managing legal risks relating to Amazon’s businesses in Japan. Prior to joining Amazon, Yuichi spent 14 years in private practice at several Japanese and international law firms including Nishimura & Asahi.
Yoshihisa Yamashita has built extensive leadership experience in technology strategy and corporate R&D. Before joining Paloma Rheem Holdings in May 2025, he served as Head of the Technology Strategy Group and Director of the Corporate R&D Strategy Office at Panasonic Holdings Corporation, leading group-wide innovation planning, long-range technology development, and R&D portfolio initiatives. He also fostered collaboration across global engineering teams, strengthening the organization’s innovation capability.
