Hiroyuki Yoshino
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Honda R&D in April 1963, became a Director of the R&D company in March 1977, a Director of Honda Motor in May 1983, Senior Managing Director in June 1990 and Executive Vice President in June 1992. From June 1994 he also served as President of Honda R&D, and as an engineer who had come up on the R&D side he became President in June 1998. With neither blood ties to the founding family nor a shareholding to back him, he carried on unchanged the independent course his predecessor Nobuhiko Kawamoto had defended.
Selection
In June 1998 he took over the presidency from Nobuhiko Kawamoto. Around the world, scale-driven consolidation continued: Germany's Daimler-Benz and America's Chrysler merged in 1998, and in 1999 Renault took a stake in Nissan Motor. Even as talk circulated of a plan for Ford Motor to acquire Honda, Hiroyuki Yoshino did not ride the wave of consolidation, holding that the question was not scale but whether Honda could have cars that sell.
Initiatives
In 2001 he again held to independence, declining to pursue growth in scale through mergers and alliances that would not improve efficiency. At the Suzuka Factory he launched a production reform line able to build everything from compact cars to large one-box vans without changing equipment. In April 1999 Honda established Honda Credit in Tokyo, and in December that year Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in the United States. In June 2002 automobile engine production at the Wako plant of the Saitama Factory ended and was moved to the Sayama plant.
Career
Career
Honda R&D
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1963 | Joined |
| Mar 1977 | Director |
| May 1983 | Executive Vice President |
| Jun 1994 | President |
Honda Motor
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1983 | Director |
| Jun 1988 | Managing Director |
| Jun 1990 | Senior Managing Director |
| Jun 1992 | Executive Vice President |
| Jun 1998 | President |
| Jun 2003 | Stepped down as President |