Toshimitsu Imai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Toyota Tsusho in April 1988. He became General Manager of Sales Quality Enhancement in April 2009 and, as an Executive Officer from April 2016, served as Deputy CEO of the major African distributor CFAO. In January 2018 he also became a Managing Officer of Toyota Motor, and he rose to CDTO in April 2021 and Executive Vice President and CDTO in April 2022. He worked both in local management in Africa and in the digital division.
Selection
In April 2025 he rose from Executive Vice President to succeed Ichiro Kashitani as President and CEO, with Kashitani moving to Director and Vice Chairman in the same month. In the fiscal year ended March 2025, the year before he took office, revenue was ¥10,309.5 billion and profit ¥362.5 billion, both record highs. The company placed an Africa specialist who had been Deputy CEO of CFAO at the head of a three-person leadership alongside Executive Vice President and CFO Hideyuki Iwamoto and CSO Tominaga.
Initiatives
Under the mid-term management plan, the company plans to invest ¥200 billion in its Africa Division by fiscal 2027, and Imai also mentioned adding to that investment, saying large projects would be considered separately. About 20% of company-wide sales go to Toyota Motor, and the company holds almost no resource interests, drawing a line with the phrase "we won't dig into the earth for anything but lithium." It has set a target of raising the Africa Division's sales, ¥1,649.4 billion in the FY ended March 2025, to ¥4.5 trillion in ten years.
Career
Career
Toyota Tsusho
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1988 | Joined |
| Apr 2009 | General Manager, Sales Quality Enhancement Department |
| Apr 2016 | Executive Officer, CFAO Company, Executive Vice President |
| Jan 2019 | Executive Officer |
| Apr 2021 | CDTO 本部COO 極CEO補佐 (translation pending) |
| Apr 2022 | Executive Vice President, CDTO |
| Apr 2025 | President, CEO |
| Jun 2025 | President, CEO |
Toyota Motor
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jan 2018 | Managing Officer |