Departure of the founder and president of Kazé, Cedric Littardi
After 18 years as head of Kazé, the company he founded, Cedric Littardi will leave the group and all related duties effective from Wednesday, May 16th, 2012.
Hyoe Narita, president of Viz Media Europe, will be named as his successor and replacement as the head of the Kazé group.
Kazé and Viz Media Europe would jointly like to thank him for everything he has achieved while at Kazé and appreciate his fundamental role in the promotion of Japanese content in France and Europe. Cedric has dedicated his entire career to promoting Japanese culture since the beginning of the 90s.
Under his direction, Kazé has allowed wide audiences in France to discover a huge number of masterworks of Japanese animation (Grave of the Fireflies, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time…), amazing directors (Mamoru Hosoda, Keiichi Hara…) and very talented artists of every kind. It is also under his leadership, that the company launched a music label (Wasabi Records), a TV channel (KZTV) and many new media initiatives (including KZPLAY.FR, the first simulcast site in France).
Viz Media Europe and Kazé Group is very confident as it looks towards its future. “We have a deep respect for the feats accomplished by Cedric Littardi, the founder of Kazé. As one of the leading companies for content distribution in Europe, we are looking forward to continuing to bring the best of Japanese entertainment to everyone”, indicated Hyoe Narita, new president of Kazé.
“After 18 years, it must be the time of adulthood for Kazé. Resuming my duties comes with a certain amount of sorrow and memories of the past, but I strongly believe that the current Kazé team is more than capable of taking on the challenges I have been carrying over the years even better than I ever did. I will now launch several new projects on my side that I hope will just as exciting as my prior one and I convey my best wishes and thanks to the many people I have had the privilege and honor of working with during my long time at Kazé”, says Cedric Littardi as a farewell message.
Viz Media Europe and Kaze wish the very best of all to Cedric as he embarks on new adventures, and extend their hope they will be just as exceptional as the previous ones.
All the employees of VME-Kazé would like to thank Cedric from the depths of their hearts for all the support, kindness and consideration he has given them throughout the years.
