Takahiro Hachigo
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined in April 1982 and moved from automobile body design to serve as head of the Suzuka Factory and deputy general manager of the China regional subsidiary, becoming an Operating Officer in June 2008, a Managing Officer in April 2014 and a Senior Managing Officer in April 2015. In June 2015 he became Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, and in April 2017 also took the title of CEO. He was a career employee with neither blood ties to the founding family nor a shareholding to back him.
Selection
In June 2015 he succeeded Takanobu Ito as President. In the fiscal year ended March 2015, just before, consolidated net sales were ¥13,328.0 billion and operating income ¥644.8 billion, with operating income down from ¥728.9 billion the year before. In the FY ended March 2016, his first year, operating income fell further to ¥503.4 billion on net sales of ¥14,601.1 billion. The task of winding down the domestic and European production capacity expanded under his predecessors fell to him.
Initiatives
In October 2017 he set out a policy to consolidate automobile production at the Sayama plant into the Yorii plant, made concrete in July 2018 as a closure by fiscal 2023. On February 19, 2019, he announced that automobile production at the Swindon plant in the U.K. and the plant in Turkey would end during 2021, and Honda withdrew entirely from finished vehicle production in Europe. The withdrawal was not due to Brexit but part of a production realignment centered on electrification. In December 2020 he announced an early retirement incentive program for employees aged 55 and over.
Career
Career
Honda Motor
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1982 | Joined |
| Jun 2008 | Executive Officer |
| Apr 2014 | Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2015 | Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| Jun 2015 | Representative Director, President, Executive Officer |
| Apr 2017 | Chief Executive Officer |
| Apr 2021 | Stepped down as President |