Risaburo Toyoda
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He entered the Toyoda family as the husband of Aiko Toyoda, Kiichiro Toyoda's younger sister. He served as President of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, founded in Kariya in November 1926, and led the loom business together with Managing Director Kiichiro Toyoda. Within the company there was resistance to pouring profits earned from the core loom business into automobiles with no visible prospect of success, but Risaburo financially backed the automobile division's development by committing the profits of the group, including affiliates. He was the man who, from his position in charge of the loom business, approved the decision to channel money into the uncertain business of automobiles.
Selection
On August 28, 1937, the automobile division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was spun off as Toyota Motor Co. with capital of ¥12 million, with Risaburo Toyoda as President and Kiichiro Toyoda as Executive Vice President. The company's history in its annual securities report also records August 1937 as the spin-off (founding of the company) and the capital as ¥12,000 thousand. It was a choice to place the capital investment and borrowing for automobiles, which could have dragged down the parent's credit if kept as a division of the loom works, on a separate legal entity. As of March 1938, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works held 75.17% of the shares, and Risaburo's personal stake was 4.17%. With the loom works' president also heading the new company, both capital and management were tied to the loom side.
Initiatives
On December 19, 1939, Risaburo Toyoda, as President of Toyota, signed a three-party alliance agreement providing for a joint venture in Japan funded 30% by Toyota, 30% by Nissan Motor and 40% by Ford. At the time, Executive Vice President Kiichiro Toyoda handled the automobile business in practice, while Risaburo oversaw the management of the entire Toyoda group, which held both looms and automobiles. According to Eiji Toyoda, Risaburo was the strongest opponent of entering passenger cars, yet the decision to channel funds from looms into automobiles also rested on his consent. On January 28, 1941, at a board meeting following an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, Kiichiro Toyoda moved up from Director and Executive Vice President to Director and President, and Risaburo became Chairman.
Career
Career
Toyoda Automatic Loom Works
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Nov 1926 | President |
Toyota Motor Co.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Aug 1937 | President |
| Jan 1941 | Chairman |