Yoshiki Yamasaki
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Hiroshima in 1914, he graduated from Hiroshima Higher Technical School in March 1938 and joined Toyo Kogyo the same month. He became General Manager of Automobile Manufacturing in December 1959, a Director in June 1965, head of the Automobile Manufacturing Division in January 1970, Managing Director in June 1973 and Senior Managing Director in December 1975, where he also served as head of the Automobile Manufacturing Division and in charge of overseas projects. He was an engineer who spent all 39 years from joining to becoming President on the production floor.
Selection
He became President in December 1977, succeeding Kohei Matsuda, who became Chairman. He was the first President from outside the founding family. Before he took office, the fiscal year ended October 1975 had brought an ordinary loss of ¥17.3 billion and a net loss of ¥1.7 billion, and ordinary income for the FY ended October 1977 was only ¥8.2 billion. Tsutomu Murai of Sumitomo Bank had come in as Executive Vice President in January 1976, and in January 1977 Hiroshi Mineoka, also from the bank, became Managing Director in charge of the President's office, research and accounting, and Kiyoshi Inomata of Sumitomo Trust Bank became Managing Director in charge of the treasury department.
Initiatives
In November 1979 the company concluded a capital alliance with Ford Motor Company. It completed the Hofu Nakanoseki transmission plant in December 1981 and the Hofu Nishinoura passenger car plant in September 1982, and in May 1984 changed its name from Toyo Kogyo to Mazda. Sales grew from ¥628.3 billion in the fiscal year ended October 1977, when he took office, to ¥1,431.8 billion in the FY ended October 1984, and ordinary income from ¥8.2 billion to ¥55.5 billion.
Career
Career
Toyo Kogyo
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1977 | President |
| 1984 | Stepped down as President |