Sunday, September 7, 2025
  • Login
Forbes 40under40
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
Forbes 40under40
No Result
View All Result
Home Innovation

Akio Toyoda Steps Down As President and CEO of Toyota

by Riah Marton
in Innovation
Akio Toyoda Steps Down As President and CEO of Toyota
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Toyota, the world’s largest maker of cars, is embarking on a leadership change.



Courtesy company

Akio Toyoda, Koji Sato, and Takeshi Uchiyamada.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, is stepping down as president and CEO of the company, a position he has held since 2009. (The company was once called Toyoda, but the spelling was changed to make it more fortuitous.)

“I believe that, over these 13 years, I have built a solid foundation for passing the baton forward,” he said in a press conference Thursday, per a company transcript.

Toyoda said the change occurred because the current chairman of the company’s board, Takeshi Uchiyamada, resigned. He will stay on the board, but Toyoda will be the new chairman.

Toyoda also noted that the top job was not easy: “In retrospect, these 13 years have been a period of struggling to survive one day after the next. That is my honest feeling.”

Koji Sato, who previously held titles including president of Lexus International (Lexus is owned by Toyota), will become the new president and CEO.

Toyota was founded in 1926 by Sakichi Toyoda. In 2021, the company sold 10.5 million cars (including affiliates). This was the most out of any automaker in the world, per CNBC.

One oft-cited reason for the company’s success is its Toyota Production System (TPS), which evolved as a way to eliminate waste in the production process. It started with two concepts, “jidoka” which means “automation with a human touch” — in practice this means the company stops a production process as soon as an error is detected. The second concept is the “Just-in-Time concept, in which each process produces only what is needed for the next process in a continuous flow,” the company writes.

Philosophically, TPS centers on employee engagement and customer satisfaction, and it has since been adopted (in some form) by rival car manufacturers and even places like hospitals, per a 2008 study from Harvard Business Review. The method helped the St. Bernard Project rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in half the time, per Forbes.

Toyoda took over as CEO in 2009 when the company was in veritable crisis, per The Associated Press. It lost some $4.6 billion yen that year, amid the larger financial crisis, and it was Toyoda’s job to put the company back on track. The year prior, in 2008, the company had its first operating loss in 70 years.

Amid the pandemic and continued supply chain issues, there have still been some struggles. The company reported a 20% expected decline in operating profit in May.

Toyota has also had a slower push into electric vehicles — despite being an innovator with its hybrid Prius in 1997, per CNBC.

Toyoda’s move appeared to take many by surprise, per Reuters.

“I myself was surprised. Ten out of 10 analysts had probably been thinking that Toyoda would carry on for a while, so that came as a huge surprise,” said Koji Endo, senior analyst at SBI Securities said, per the outlet.



Source link

Tags: AkioBusiness NewsCEONews and TrendsOperations & LogisticsPresidentStepsToyodaToyota
Riah Marton

Riah Marton

I'm Riah Marton, a dynamic journalist for Forbes40under40. I specialize in profiling emerging leaders and innovators, bringing their stories to life with compelling storytelling and keen analysis. I am dedicated to spotlighting tomorrow's influential figures.

Next Post
12 Things I Learned Working at Uber, Instawork and Intro

12 Things I Learned Working at Uber, Instawork and Intro

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Forbes 40under40 stands as a distinguished platform revered for its commitment to honoring and applauding the remarkable achievements of exceptional individuals who have yet to reach the age of 40. This esteemed initiative serves as a beacon of inspiration, spotlighting trailblazers across various industries and domains, showcasing their innovation, leadership, and impact on a global scale.

 
 
 
 

NEWS

  • Forbes Magazine
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Money
  • Leadership
  • Real Estate
  • Lifestyle
Instagram Facebook Youtube

© 2025 Forbes 40under40. All Rights Reserved.

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Innovation
  • Real Estate
  • Leadership
  • Money
  • Lifestyle

© 2024 Forbes 40under40. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In