Mazda to Promote Marumoto to President in June

May 11, 2018

Fuchu, Hiroshima Pref.- Mazda Motor Corp. said Friday that it will promote Executive Vice President Akira Marumoto, 60, to its president to succeed Masamichi Kogai on June 26.

Kogai, 63, will step aside to the post of chairman while retaining the right to represent the major Japanese automaker.

Mazda decided on its first top management reshuffle in five years as its structural reforms are now firmly on track.

Kogai, who became Mazda president in June 2013, spearheaded the company's reform efforts, including the formation of a capital and business alliance with leading Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. <7203>, amid intensified competition in the automotive industry.

In fiscal 2017, which ended in March, Mazda posted a group net profit of 112,057 million yen, up 19.5 pct from the preceding year, and sales of 3,474,024 million yen, up 8.1 pct, with its global automobile sales growing 4.6 pct to a record 1,631,000 units.

After serving as an executive in charge of product quality and development, Marumoto assumed the current post in June 2013 and has since supported Kogai.

"He has a wealth of experience overseas, so he can catch global trends and take the lead," Kogai said at a press conference at the Mazda head office in the town of Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, explaining the reason for choosing Marumoto as his successor.

"I'm resolved to act speedily" to tackle the challenges facing the company, Marumoto said, indicating his intention to inherit Kogai's strategy in principle.

Marumoto joined Toyo Kogyo Co., the predecessor of Mazda, in 1980 and joined the Mazda board in 1999.