Thursday, February 10, 2005

Toyota names new president

Watanabe moves up as founder's grandson advances to executive vice president job.

By Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press

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TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Co.p., Japan's biggest automaker, named an executive with experience in production and corporate planning as its new president Wednesday and named a grandson of the company's founder to an executive post.

Katsuaki Watanabe, 62, who oversees procurement and business development, was named to replace Fujio Cho, 68, at the helm of the company, based in the central Japanese city of Toyoda.

Toyota further appointed Akio Toyoda to executive vice president. He is the son of former Toyota president Shoichiro Toyoda and the grandson of the company's founder. The move positions him as a top candidate for future Toyota president.

Cho, who became president in 1999, oversaw Toyota's growth in the key North American market, Europe and booming markets like China.

He will be promoted to vice chairman, and Hiroshi Okuda will stay on as chairman, the automaker reported. Cho and Okuda are expected to continue to wield considerable influence over the direction of the automaker, and so the management changes aren't expected to result in major policy shifts.

Cho will replace Okuda as chairman next year.

"Toyota is moving solidly on course following its plan for growth, and that's not affected by the changing of presidents," said Shinji Kitayama, auto analyst at Shinko Securities in Tokyo.

Kitayama said the promotion of a member of the Toyoda family had symbolic significance that could raise morale.

And the continuing rise of Akio Toyoda, 48, who became a board member in June 2000 and now is senior managing director, reflects Toyota's shift toward younger management at a time when the long-entrenched rules of seniority are losing their grip on Japanese companies.

Toyoda has headed Toyota's Chinese operations as well as its Internet business. Earlier, he was vice president at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a Fremont, Calif.-based joint venture between Toyota and General Motors Corp.

Okuda said the management shifts were meant to introduce change and promote younger managers. The average age of vice presidents will go down from nearly 64 to below 58.