Toyota said the changes to its executive structure will be effective from April 1. (File)
Tokyo:
Toyota on Thursday named Koji Sato as its new president, CEO and operating officer, replacing third-generation chief executive Akio Toyoda — who will become chairman of the board.
The Japanese car giant, which is currently the world’s largest selling automaker, said in a statement that the changes to its executive structure will be effective from April 1.
Toyoda, 66, became Toyota’s youngest-ever chairman in 2009, as the firm returned to its family foundation following the global financial crash.
He is the grandson of the company’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. His father, Shoichiro Toyoda, also led Toyota in the 1980s and 90s.
After a bumpy start at the helm, he became known as a charismatic leader who was tasked with navigating a period of major turmoil for the auto industry.
He steered the group through a quality-control scandal that saw him apologize before the US Congress, and the supply chain chaos caused by Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
More recently, he has worked to bolster Toyota’s ambitions in the key electric vehicle sector.
Incoming chairman Sato, 53, was previously the company’s chief branding officer, and president of its luxury Lexus brand.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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