Hiroshi Okuda Explained

Hiroshi Okuda (奥田 碩 Okuda Hiroshi; born December 29, 1932, in Mie Prefecture), is the former chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation^[1] from 1999 to 2006.^[2]

Overview

He became president of Toyota in 1995 and has worked at the corporation for 50 years. In 1998, Okuda was selected as a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Strategy Council of Japan^[2] and became chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations^[3] in 1999. He has also held the position of chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association^[4] since 2000. Okuda holds a 4th dan black belt in Judo and graduated from Hitotsubashi University^[5] in 1955.

Okuda is credited with seeing the need for hybrid cars early and pushing Toyota towards quickly bringing them to market.^[6]

Notes and References

1. News: Fredrick. Jim. Hiroshi Okuda / Fujio Cho. https://web.archive.org/web/20070116190525/http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2004/time100/builders/100okuda.html. dead. January 16, 2007. 28 December 2010. Time.
2. News: Schroeder. Robert. Toyota chairman steps down: Cho takes over post vacated by retiring Okuda. 28 December 2010. MarketWatch. 24 June 2006.
3. News: Strom. Stephanie. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; Toyota Is Seeking to Stop Use of Seniority to Set Pay. 28 December 2010. New York Times. 8 July 1999.
4. Book: Satō, Masaaki. The Honda myth: the genius and his wake. 2006. Vertical. 978-1-932234-26-8. 449.
5. News: Bremmer. Brian. Toyota's Crusade. https://archive.today/20130119143747/http://www.businessweek.com/1997/14/b35211.htm. dead. 2013-01-19. 29 December 2010. Business Week. 7 April 1997.
6. News: Taylor III. Alex. The Birth of the Prius. 28 December 2010. Fortune. 24 February 2006. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101101054905/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/03/06/8370702/. 1 November 2010.