With the eventual grooming of eldest Suzuki brood Toshihiro-san to the Suzuki leadership, and delegation of other management/decision matters to three other Suzuki directors...hopefully ASMC would get that much needed attention/expansion here in the USDM, not to mention a boost to help speed up cooperation/joint projects with VWAG.
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Suzuki Readies Change Of Guard With Decision-Making Quartet
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Suzuki Motor Corp. (7269) said Friday it has created a top decision-making body consisting of four key directors, delegating part of Chairman and President Osamu Suzuki's authority to the team.
Headed by Toshihiro Suzuki, the charismatic leader's eldest son, who oversees sales abroad, the new body will share the responsibility of charting the carmaker's strategy and course at a time when it faces a host of challenges, including how to overcome the damages from the recent earthquake.
The move is also designed to lay the groundwork for a successor to the 81-year-old Suzuki, who has practically run the company for more than three decades.
The other three directors in the team are: Minoru Tamura, charged with domestic sales; Osamu Honda, who oversees the development of technologies for automobiles; and Yasuhito Harayama, in charge of partnerships with Volkswagen AG and other issues.
"The new body and I will work together like the two wheels of a cart to address issues of concern," Suzuki said at a news conference in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. "I want the four members to discuss my directives as well as issues of importance raised" by sales, manufacturing and other departments of the company, he said.
In March, the firm's domestic car production fell by more than half from planned volumes to about 32,000 units. But coping with the impact of the March 11 disaster is not the only challenge facing Suzuki. In order to survive the increasingly competitive global market, it must develop environmentally friendly vehicles and cultivate the Asian market further.
Explaining why the company set up the new management team, the president said: "Many problems emerged after our company's sales dropped (as a result of the 2008 financial crisis).
"I was arrogant to think that I had been able to take care of this company on my own. But I realized that the firm was no longer an organization that a single person could control."
Asked if the creation of the new unit is an intermediate step toward the eventual transfer of power to his successor, Suzuki said, "I have missed the chance to shift authority before. I thought this is a good time to start."
Still, restoring earnings that are weakening in the quake's aftermath "is my responsibility," Suzuki said. "Ceding the position now to a successor is like fleeing in the face of the enemy."
(The Nikkei April 2 morning edition)
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110402D01JFN03.htm
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