Koji Sato, Chief Branding Officer and CEO-designate of Toyota Motors speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on February 13, 2023. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
Toyota Motor Corp. announced several changes to its senior management as Koji Sato prepares to take over as president and chief executive officer, including new heads of technology and finance.
Hiroki Nakajima becomes chief technology officer and Yoichi Miyazaki will be chief financial officer from April 1, when Sato is slated to take over from Akio Toyoda, the Japanese automaker said in a statement Monday. Both executives join the board of directors, along with newly appointed Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries.
Even though Toyota is spending ¥4 trillion ($31 billion) to roll out 30 electric vehicle models by 2030, its strategy of offering multiple options for car buyers - gasoline engines, hybrids, battery-based EVs and hydrogen-powered cars - has led to criticism that it isn’t shifting fast enough. Sato said he would seek to change that, and conceded that at times it was a communication issue.
"The notion that Toyota’s efforts to electrify are lagging - I think half of that comes down to communication,” Sato said at a news conference in Tokyo to announce the management changes. Regarding the company’s new EV platform slated for 2026, he said further details will be announced in April.
Toyoda, who will become chairman after 14 years at the helm, didn’t attend the briefing - a sign that he’s handing over authority to his successor. No women were included in the list of those promoted or assigned to Toyota’s new executive positions.
In addition to the widespread changes, Woven Planet Holdings Inc. will change its name to Woven by Toyota Inc. The unit, which works on autonomous driving software and a smart city, is meant to shape Toyota’s future technologies.
Sato said "inheritance and evolution” are themes for the new leadership, repeating his predecessor’s thesis that, while battery EVs are important, the company needs to provide a wide range of options including hybrid and internal combustion engine cars.
The new CEO likened his executive lineup to a soccer team, one in which every individual plays a unique role but must rely on each other to pursue a common goal - providing customers with satisfactory products and services, and reducing and eventually eliminating the gargantuan carmaker’s carbon emissions.
"My role, as captain, is to maximize the team’s potential,” Sato said.
