SUZUKI CEO STEPS DOWN: AN ERA ENDS
91-year-old chairman Osamu Suzuki is stepping down after leading an automaker for longer than anyone else in the industry.
Suzuki, who served as the Japanese carmaker’s chief executive for 22 years and then as chairman for another two decades, will step down from his current role following a shareholders meeting in June, the company said in a statement Wednesday. He will remain as a senior adviser.
With almost half a century at the helm, Suzuki is widely credited with turning the carmaker into what it is today: one of the largest small-vehicle manufacturers in the world. Instead of taking Japan’s biggest auto giants like Toyota Motor Corp. head on, Suzuki worked to grow the company by finding new markets around the world for its compact automobiles, building a dominant share in India during his first of two terms as president from 1978 to 2000.
Suzuki Motor announced a mid-term plan Wednesday that includes electrifying all models “at the appropriate time” and reducing manufacturing-related carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The decision on management change will “up the speed of the company,” Suzuki said at the briefing.
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