Hiroshi Okuda
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, he graduated from Hitotsubashi University's Faculty of Commerce and joined Toyota Motor Sales in April 1955. After the accounting department and postings in the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia, he became General Manager of the sales company's Australia and Asia department in February 1979. He became a Director at the July 1982 merger of the manufacturing and sales companies, then Managing Director in September 1987, Senior Managing Director in September 1988 and Executive Vice President in September 1992. A career employee with no blood ties to the founding family, he had walked the front lines of overseas sales.
Selection
In August 1995 he moved up from Executive Vice President to President in place of Tatsuro Toyoda, who had fallen ill. Since the old Toyota Motor Co., only two presidents, Taizo Ishida and Fukio Nakagawa, had had no ties to the Toyoda family, and he was the first non-family career president in 28 years counting from Eiji Toyoda's appointment in 1967. Toyota's share of domestic registered vehicles had fallen below 40% the previous December for the first time in 11 years, and criticism was mounting that the long run of management headed by the Toyoda family was slowing decision-making. Afterward, 14 years would pass before another Toyoda became President, Akio Toyoda in 2009.
Initiatives
On taking office he declared that he would respect the Toyoda family but handle personnel fairly, and in May 1996 he pushed through a generational change that kept only 2 of the 19 executives at Managing Director level and above in their posts. He raised selling and advertising expenses for fiscal 1995 by about 40% from the previous year to ¥234.8 billion and launched new models one after another. In December 1997 he released the Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid car, and in September 1998 made Daihatsu Motor a subsidiary to bring in minivehicles. It was an expansionary reform that moved personnel, sales and environmental technology all at once.
Career
Career
Toyota Motor Sales
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1955 | Joined |
| Feb 1979 | 販売㈱豪亜部長就 (translation pending) |
Toyota Motor
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 1982 | Director |
| Sep 1987 | Managing Director |
| Sep 1988 | Senior Managing Director |
| Sep 1992 | Executive Vice President |
| Aug 1995 | President |
| Jun 1999 | Chairman |
| Jun 1999 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 2006 | Director, Senior Advisor |