Toshio Okamoto
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Toshio Okamoto was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1908, graduated from the mechanical engineering department of Meiji College of Technology in March 1933 and joined Tokyo Gas Electric Industry that April. He stayed with the same company after its integration into Tokyo Automobile Industries in August 1937, rising to Director in June 1958, Managing Director in June 1964, Senior Managing Director in June 1966 and Executive Vice President in June 1970. A career man on the engineering side, he served as General Manager of Engineering at Isuzu Motors in April 1953.
Selection
Torao Aramaki, who had decided on the capital alliance with GM, stepped back to Chairman, and Okamoto succeeded him as President in January 1976. Even in 1974, three years after the alliance, the company was still paying no dividend, and exports of small trucks through GM's global sales network were propping up results. In the fiscal year ended October 1975, just before he took office, the company posted an ordinary loss of ¥10.2 billion and a net loss of ¥8.7 billion on net sales of ¥356.3 billion. The task of filling the export route opened by the alliance with products fell to a president from engineering.
Initiatives
He drew up a plan to export 200,000 units a year to the U.S. of the "R car," a strategic passenger car developed with a total investment of ¥70 billion, with 1984 set as the first year of shipments. In April 1982 he went ahead with strengthening the passenger car division, involving investment of ¥80-100 billion. It was a decision made under President Toshio Okamoto's assessment that this was the toughest situation in his 49 years with the company. Results turned from an ordinary loss of ¥10.2 billion in the fiscal year ended October 1975, just before he took office, to ordinary income of ¥9.3 billion in FY ended October 1976, his first year, recovering to ¥25.2 billion in FY ended October 1978. Net sales reached ¥727.4 billion in FY ended October 1981. In 1984, when R car shipments began, the presidency passed to Kazuo Tobiyama.
Career
Career
Tokyo Gas Electric Engineering
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1933 | Joined |
Isuzu Motors
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Aug 1937 | 東京自動車工業へ統合、引き続き勤務 (translation pending) |
| Jun 1958 | Director |
| Jun 1964 | Managing Director |
| Jun 1966 | Senior Managing Director |
| Jun 1970 | Executive Vice President |
| Jan 1976 | President |
| Jan 1984 | Stepped down as President |
References 3
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本企業要覧 1976年版
- 日経ビジネス 1979年11月19日号「交遊アラカルト」（岡本利雄氏）
- 日本経済新聞 1982年4月28日「STカー、いすゞ背水の陣」