Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co.’s global business head will become chief operating officer, as the retail giant grooms the next generation of leaders who might one day take the reins from founder Tadashi Yanai.

Daisuke Tsukagoshi begins his new role Sept. 1, the Japanese company said in a statement Monday. The appointment is part of strategy to strengthen management structure, it added.

The 44-year-old has been serving as as international CEO and head of North America, after Yanai tapped him to overhaul the company’s fortunes on the continent at the height of Covid.

Tsukagoshi has since turned the region’s business around, and it reported profit last year for the first time since opening in New Jersey in 2005. He has a mandate to more than triple the number of North American stores to 200 and deliver annual revenue of ¥300 billion ($2 billion) — and an operating margin of 20% — by 2027.

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The move to the US marked Tsukagoshi’s 18th relocation since joining Fast Retailing in 2002, including a stint as as Uniqlo’s COO in China from 2017 to 2020.