| Akio Toyoda  Born: 3-May-1956
Birthplace: Nagoya, Japan
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: Asian
Occupation: Business Nationality: Japan
Executive summary: President of Toyota Motor Corporation Akio Toyoda is the eleventh man to be president of Toyota Motor Corporation, and the sixth to be named Toyoda (the spelling of the company's name was altered in 1936, for easier pronunciation). He is the great-grandson of Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota Industries Corporation; grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota Motor Corporation; and son of Shoichiro Toyoda, who was president of Toyota Motor Corporation from 1982-92. The family still controls about 2% of Toyota's voting stock.
He earned a law degree in Japan and an MBA in America before joining the family business in 1984. He briefly worked on the factory floor, but it was very briefly. Always expected to become president of the company, he was groomed with quick promotions across a variety of executive positions in production, marketing, web design, and product development. From 1998 to 2000 he was executive vice president of New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), the joint manufacturing venture with General Motors in California. He was named president of Toyota Motor Corporation in June 2009.
Mere months after becoming president, he became the face of Toyota's public apologies amidst a massive recall of the company's vehicles in 2010 over "sticky" accelerators. Dozens of people were killed in hundreds of accidents involving eight models of Toyotas related to the accelerator problems, while evidence suggests that the company had known of the dangerous manufacturing defect for years, and withheld substantial evidence in vehicle liability lawsuits.
"Toyota vehicles bear my name," the CEO said in his apology. "For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota's cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles." Father: Shoichiro Toyoda (Past president of Toyota Motor Corporation, b. 17-Feb-1925)
Mother: Hiroko Mitsui (m. 1952)
Law School: JD, Keio University (1979)
University: MBA, Babson College (1982)
Toyota President (Jun-2009)
Toyota Executive Vice President (2005-09)
Toyota Managing Director, Asia & China Operations Center (2002-05)
Toyota Director, Asia & China Operations Center (2001-02)
Toyota President, New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) (1998-2000)
Toyota (1982-98)
Member of the Board of Toyota (2000-)
Japanese Ancestry
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