Olympus CEO Dismissed Amid Allegations of Drug Purchase, Shares Plunge 6%
Japanese endoscope manufacturer Olympus Corp. announced on Monday the dismissal of Chief Executive Stefan Kaufmann following allegations that he purchased illegal drugs, resulting in a 6% drop in the company’s share price.
Kaufmann, a German national who assumed the CEO role in April of the previous year, was tasked with expanding Olympus’s medical equipment division. His predecessor, Yasuo Takeuchi, had focused on restructuring the company through significant asset sales.
The company stated that Takeuchi, 67, who remains an Olympus director, will resume CEO responsibilities temporarily.
“Upon receiving an allegation that Mr. Stefan Kaufmann had purchased illegal drugs, Olympus, in consultation with external legal counsel, immediately launched an investigation,” the company said in a statement. Olympus declined to specify the source of the allegation. “Based on the investigation’s findings, the Board of Directors unanimously concluded that Mr. Kaufmann likely engaged in conduct inconsistent with our global code of conduct, core values, and corporate culture,” the statement continued. Kaufmann complied with the board’s request for his resignation.
Kaufmann, who had served Olympus for over 20 years, took on the role as the company faced regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. FDA for issues regarding quality control and reporting requirements related to its endoscopes and accessories. A source familiar with Kaufmann said his priorities as CEO had been to address these regulatory concerns and expand Olympus’s medtech business.
Olympus has shifted its focus to digital technology and robotics, shedding its camera, voice recorder, and microscope businesses. Takeuchi noted the company’s interest in such acquisitions during a 2022 joint interview with Kaufmann.
The 6% drop in Olympus’s stock marked its most significant one-day decline in nearly three months. Since Kaufmann’s appointment, the stock had risen 16%, trailing the Nikkei 225’s 38% gain over the same period.
Olympus has faced corporate controversies in the past. In 2011, former CEO Michael Woodford exposed an accounting scandal involving inflated acquisition costs to conceal losses. Woodford was soon dismissed and eventually lost a legal battle for control of the company. Similarly, in 2015, Toyota executive Julie Hamp faced arrest on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller oxycodone into Japan, though she was later released.
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