Hiroaki Nakanishi, a former executive chairman of conglomerate Hitachi, has died of lymphoma at the age of 75. The businessman was known for his efforts to revamp long-standing customs in corporate Japan and also led a transformation of Hitachi.

Nakanishi stepped down last month as the 14th chief of the Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, to focus on treatment for lymphoma.

Nakanishi had been hospitalized in July 2020 due to a relapse of the condition, but continued working, attending Keidanren and other meetings online, including as a private-sector member of the government’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy.

Nakanishi graduated in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1970 and joined Hitachi the following month. He climbed the ranks from factory manager to head of the European business, and to the President in 2010.

During Nakanishi’s term as president, Hitachi’s operating profit margin rose from 2.3 percent in 2009 to 6.3 percent in 2015, the company said. He became chairman of the board in 2016.