Toshihiro Mibe, Honda’s new CEO, previously head the company’s research and development operations.
Despite saying it wouldn’t happen just 24 hours ago, it happened: Honda Motor Co. named Toshihiro Mibe, head of its research and development operations, as its new CEO starting April 1.
Mibe, who’s been with the company for more than three decades, takes over for Takahiro Hachigo, who joined the automaker in June 2015. Hachigo told the media that he “made a decision to hand over the baton of the presidency” to Mibe to get some “fresh” perspectives into the company.
Observers speculated for weeks that change was in the air at the automaker, especially since Hachigo pushed for a focus on the development of electric vehicles and achieving carbon neutrality. He also worked to solidify the existing business in order to stabilize and strengthen the company overall.
Change is hard
Hachigo noted some of the initiatives he pushed for required some tough decisions. “… we carried out fundamental reforms without being bound by conventional ways of doing things.
Takahiro Hachigo said he was passing “the baton” on to Mibe to keep fresh ideas coming to the company.
“This included the optimization of our product development system and production capacity, which resulted in making some major decisions for Honda such as discontinuation of production at our plants in Sayama (Japan) and in Europe.”
During his tenure, the company enjoyed strong growth in China, the world’s largest automotive market. The company’s production levels in China doubled during his nearly six-year tenure atop the company. He said the company was now going to “begin harvesting the fruit” of the tough decisions made to improve and streamline operations.
Things will carry on
Speculation about Mibe’s ascension centered on several areas, but one that came to light is that he took the traditional path to the CEO’s chair. Working in a variety of areas of the company, including a stop to lead its research and development efforts, often considered a precursor to the top spot.
Mibe and Hachigo worked together on many of the changes implemented during his tenure. It appears that he’s going to continue much of what his predecessor started.
Honda COO Seiji Kuraishi will help with the transition.
“I would like to lead ‘new Honda’ by demonstrating my own strengths to the fullest extent,” he said. “In particular, I will further accelerate our “preparation for future growth” and start putting our plans into action.
“In other words, I am now going to construct a ‘building,’ which is the future of Honda, on the foundation of existing businesses that Mr. Hachigo solidified. And this building must have a resilience that can withstand this period of this ‘once in a hundred years’ transformation.”
Hachigo will move to a director’s position on the company’s board.
html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container { background: #fff; border: 3px solid #91a6bf; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; padding: 20px 30px; color: #555; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-miniText { font-size: 1em; line-height: 28px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #54C3A5; font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Alfa Slab One’, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; display:none; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-heading { font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-caption { margin-top: 12px; font-style: italic; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container .columbine-form { overflow: hidden; margin-top: 20px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col1 { float: left; width: 33.333%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col2 { float: left; width: 33.333%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col3 { float: left; width: 33.333%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col1 { float: left; width: 66.333%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col2 { float: right; width: 33.333%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.columbine-input, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.date-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.text-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.password-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container select.mo-optin-form-custom-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container textarea.mo-optin-form-custom-field { background-color: #ffffff; width: 100%; display: block; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-border-radius: 0; -moz-border-radius: 0; border-radius: 0; padding: 11px 17px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; border: 1px solid #ccc; color: #555; outline: none; margin: 0; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.columbine-input, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.date-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.text-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.mo-optin-form-custom-field.password-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container textarea.mo-optin-form-custom-field.textarea-field { -webkit-appearance: none; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input.columbine-submit, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container input[type=”submit”].mo-optin-form-cta-button { display: block; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-appearance: none; border: 0; background: #54C3A5; padding: 13px 10px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; color: #fff; outline: none; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; width: 100%; margin: 0; border-radius: 0; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-note { margin-top: 10px; line-height: normal; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.mo-optin-error { display: none; background: #FF0000; color: white; text-align: center; padding: .2em; margin: 0; width: 100%; font-size: 16px; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid #FF0000; } @media only screen and (max-width: 650px) { html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.mo-optin-error { margin-bottom: -10px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col1, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col2, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col1, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col2, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col3 { float: none; width: 100%; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 10px; } } html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-column, html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col1, html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-two-col2, html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col1, html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col2, html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-three-col3 { float: none; width: 100%; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 10px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-optin-has-custom-field div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.columbine-container div.columbine-column textarea.mo-optin-form-custom-field.textarea-field { min-height: 80px; }div#JkaXGWBzgI *, div#JkaXGWBzgI *:before, div#JkaXGWBzgI *:after {box-sizing: border-box;-webkit-box-sizing: border-box;-moz-box-sizing: border-box;}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field:focus {outline:0}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-submit-button:focus {outline:0}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div.mo-optin-powered-by{margin:5px auto 2px;text-align:center;}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div.mo-optin-powered-by a {font-size:16px !important; text-decoration: none !important;box-shadow:none !important;border-bottom-width:0px !important;cursor:pointer !important;}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container .mo-acceptance-checkbox {background-color: #fff;line-height: 0;border: 1px solid #bbb;width: 16px;min-width: 16px;height: 16px;margin: 0 5px 0 0 !important;outline: 0;text-align: center;vertical-align: middle;clear: none;cursor: pointer;}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container .mo-acceptance-label {cursor:pointer}div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost p {padding:0px !important;margin:0px !important}div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-wrapper label {color:inherit;font-weight: normal;margin: 0;padding:0;}div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost input[type=submit] {-webkit-appearance: none;}div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost_container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost input {z-index: auto;}div#JkaXGWBzgI.mo-cta-button-flag .mo-optin-form-note .mo-acceptance-label {display:none;}div#JkaXGWBzgI .mailoptin-video-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mailoptin-video-container iframe, div#JkaXGWBzgI .mailoptin-video-container object, div#JkaXGWBzgI .mailoptin-video-container embed, div#JkaXGWBzgI .mailoptin-video-container video { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost.mo-optin-form-wrapper {max-width:100% !important}#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-spinner { border-radius: inherit; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; background: #fff url(https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/wp-content/plugins/mailoptin/src/core/src/assets/images/spinner.gif) 50% 50% no-repeat; left: 0; top: 0; opacity: 0.99; filter: alpha(opacity=80); } #JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-success-close { font-size: 32px !important; font-family: “HelveticaNeue – Light”, “Helvetica Neue Light”, “Helvetica Neue”, Helvetica, Arial, “Lucida Grande”, sans-serif !important; color: #282828 !important; font-weight: 300 !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0 !important; right: 10px !important; background: none !important; text-decoration: none !important; width: auto !important; height: auto !important; display: block !important; line-height: 32px !important; padding: 0 !important; -moz-box-shadow: none !important; -webkit-box-shadow: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-success-msg { font-size: 21px; font-family: “HelveticaNeue – Light”, “Helvetica Neue Light”, “Helvetica Neue”, Helvetica, Arial, “Lucida Grande”, sans-serif; color: #282828 !important; font-weight: 300; text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; width: 100%; position: absolute !important; left: 50%; top: 50%; -webkit-transform: translate(-50%, -50%); -moz-transform: translate(-50%, -50%); -o-transform: translate(-50%, -50%); -ms-transform: translate(-50%, -50%); transform: translate(-50%, -50%); } #JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-success-msg a { color: #0000EE; text-decoration: underline; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .list_subscription-field:not(select), html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .checkbox-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .radio-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .select-field { margin-top: 6px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .checkbox-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .radio-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .select-field { text-align: left; padding: 6px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .checkbox-field label, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .radio-field label { display: block; text-align: left; margin-top: 6px; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .checkbox-field label input, html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .radio-field label input { margin-right: 5px; vertical-align: middle; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .select-field select { width: 100%; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .list_subscription-field:not(select), html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .mo-optin-form-custom-field.checkbox-field, html div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .mo-optin-form-custom-field.radio-field { padding: 0 !important; border: 0 !important; background: transparent !important; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .list_subscription-field label { display: block !important; margin: 5px 0 !important; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .list_subscription-field label:last-child { margin: 0; } html div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-optin-form-container .mo-optin-form-wrapper .mo-optin-fields-wrapper .list_subscription-field input[type=checkbox] { cursor: pointer; } div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-headline, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container h2, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container h1 { font-size: 32px !important; }div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-description, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost p { font-size: 18px !important; }div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-note { font-size: 14px !important; }@media screen and (max-width: 768px) { div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-headline, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost h2, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost h1 { font-size: 30px !important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-description, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost p { font-size: 18px !important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-note { font-size: 14px !important; } }@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-headline, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost h2, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost h1 { font-size: 25px !important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-description, div#JkaXGWBzgI div.mo-optin-form-container div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost p { font-size: 16px !important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-note, div#JkaXGWBzgI div#JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-form-note * { font-size: 12px !important; } } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-name-field::-webkit-input-placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-name-field:-ms-input-placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-name-field::placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-email-field::-webkit-input-placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-email-field:-ms-input-placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } #JkaXGWBzgI #JkaXGWBzgI_inpost .mo-optin-field.mo-optin-form-email-field::placeholder { color: #555555 !important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-interest-container { margin: 0 10px 2px; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-interest-label { font-size: 16px; margin: 5px 0 2px; } div#JkaXGWBzgI input.mo-mailchimp-interest-choice { line-height: normal; border: 0; margin: 0 5px; } div#JkaXGWBzgI span.mo-mailchimp-choice-label { vertical-align: middle; font-size: 14px; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-interest-choice-container { margin: 5px 0; }div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-interest-label { display:inline-block!important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI span.mo-mailchimp-choice-label { vertical-align:baseline!important; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-interest-container { padding:18px 0 6px 0; } div#JkaXGWBzgI .mo-mailchimp-choice-label { font-size:16px!important; }