Osamu Suzuki retired after more than 40 years at Helm Suzuki

After some four decades in senior management positions at Suzuki, Chairman Osamu Suzuki announced last week that he was retiring. At 91 years old, Osamu is an icon of the automotive industry and one of the longest serving Leaders. He decided to retire after the company celebrated its 100th anniversary last year and approved their new management plan.

Osamu is a Suzuki lever in a company founded by his wife’s grandfather. That means he undoubtedly gave his wife’s family name, a rarity in Japanese men’s society.

He joined Suzuki in 1958 and worked his way up through the management chain. As one of the longest serving CEOs of the industry, he has held positions as president, CEO and chairman since 1978, and has held the title of chairman for the past 22 years. In 2016, he resigned as CEO to take charge of Suzuki’s use of erroneous road verification methods for vehicle fuel economy figures. When he retires in June, 2021, he will relinquish that role to his son and the company’s current president Toshihiro Suzuki.

Osamu is credited with transforming the organization into one of the largest small car manufacturers in the world, with its most notable achievement as a timely entry into the Indian market in the early 1980s. . The joint venture that he helped create, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, currently holds a market share of India of over 50%. Thanks to its vision, Suzuki today also holds No. 1 allotment status in countries such as Pakistan and Hungary and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries with a sales network covering 193 countries.

In addition to wholesale models such as the award-winning Jimny World Urban Car and the popular Swift, Suzuki is also a manufacturer of some of the best motorcycles and racing bikes on the planet. The company proved its status on two wheels when East German rider Ernst Degner won the first Grand Prix at Suzuki in 1962. “And I was there for our first victory. That was great, ”he remembers. Since then, the company has gone on to become a leading global force in all types of motorcycle racing.

At a trolley concert back in 2019, I had the opportunity to sit down with the soft-spoken Osamu for a short chat. It was rare to hear the self-confessed racing enthusiast recall his days back in the early 60s traveling with champion riders Degner and Hugh New Zealand. “I would spend a lot of time looking for good Chinese restaurants – for the riders and the crew to eat good food and good rice – in South America and elsewhere, and I would struggle with over 5 dozen members of fed rice full of energy. the team during the day, ”he said.

Chairman Osamu seemed to have a soft spot for Degner, especially since the star rider had been damaged from East to West Germany, having brought with him the precious German motorcycle technology of MZ and then on to winning the Grand Prix in 1962. “The personality differences between the two riders were interesting and challenging at times. Degner was proud and careful, while Anderson was easily polite. But they were both very competitive. and believing in our bikes, ”he said.

One of his biggest disappointments was the public falling out with Volkswagen after they formed an alliance in 2009 to co-develop hybrids and electric vehicles. But the two companies could not agree on details of the project and Suzuki moved to end the campaign two years later, asking VW to sell back the stock it bought for $ 1.9 billion.

When asked what his dream was, Osamu responded as a young activist just starting out. “I want to be No. 1. We are already No. 1 in India, Pakistan, Hungary and some parts of Asia, but I think we can extend that to other regions as well. . “Of course a big goal though in terms of ranking, reaching level 1 in more markets will be a high order. It will go out on a high note though, after leading the formation of a capital alliance with Toyota in 2019 to co-developing self-driving technology Osamu will also be remembered for its fiscal integrity which is said to be a key factor that allowed Suzuki to sell small, low-cost cars while still making a profit.