TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. has decided to promote Executive Vice President Toshiaki Tokunaga to president and CEO on April 1 next year, the company said Monday, with the aim of accelerating its digital transformation.

It will be Hitachi's first change in president in around four years. Tokunaga, 57, has played a leading role in joining hands with major U.S. technology firms Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp. to advance artificial intelligence.

Hitachi said it also intends to bolster its growth strategies, including expanding its infrastructure business, under the leadership of Tokunaga, who began working for the company in 1990 after graduating from the University of Tokyo.

Tokunaga, who assumed his current position in April 2021, said at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday that he will "faithfully accept the baton of business management and achieve sustainable growth" for Hitachi.

Hitachi said Tokunaga will take over from Keiji Kojima, 68, who will become vice chairman. During his tenure, Kojima, who became president in June 2021, established a business to support the digitalization of customers, now a pillar of Hitachi's revenue.