Mitsubishi Fuso: Top Management Change
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Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Asia, today announced the planned appointment of a new President & CEO. Mr. Harald Boelstler, currently Vice President Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Procurement, will succeed the current President & CEO of MFTBC, Mr. Wilfried Porth. The appointment becomes effective upon the approval of MFTBCs regular shareholders meeting on June 27, 2005. Mr. Porth will return to DaimlerChrysler later this year to take on a new function at the same level in Europe after assisting in the transition to the new management in Japan. In a further step in this planned change of top management at MFTBC, the current MFTBC Chairman Michio Hori will retire from his post after almost 40 years of service with various Mitsubishi group companies. The new Chairman will be Keisuke Egashira, currently Chairman of the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA) and Director at DaimlerChrysler Japan Co., Ltd. The top management move comes at the culmination of a thorough clean-up process of past quality issues. Since March 2004, MFTBC has rigorously dealt with former quality issues and successively implemented the necessary procedures and countermeasures. The appointment of a new CEO marks the deliberate shift into the second phase of the fundamental restructuring of Mitsubishi Fuso in Japan and its further integration into the DaimlerChrysler group. DaimlerChrysler Board of Management member responsible for the Commercial Vehicle Division Andreas Renschler commented: This top management change is fully supported by our Mitsubishi Group partners. DaimlerChrysler has step-by-step enlarged its long-term commitment to Mitsubishi Fuso. I would like to thank Wilfried Porth for his extraordinary accomplishments over the last 30 months. Thanks to all the initiatives taken and by being an integral part of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world, MFTBC today is better positioned than ever to move ahead on its course of renewal and compete at the forefront of the Asian and global commercial vehicle market. The integration process includes the adoption of DaimlerChryslers leading quality standards for trucks and busses. In a letter to all employees, Mr. Porth explained the background of this top management change: We are concluding the clean-up of past quality issues and have laid the foundation for a new corporate culture for Fuso. Phase II will see the permanent renewal of our company. It will be marked by a lasting restoration of trust in Fuso and a return to its successful business in Japan supported by a further integration of our company into DaimlerChryslers commercial vehicle operations. Mr. Porth joined MFTBC from DaimlerChrysler AG in January 2003 as President & CEO. In March 2004, MFTBC became a fully consolidated subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler when the company raised its shares to 65%. As a consequence of a compensation agreement with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) in March 2005, DaimlerChrysler received a further 20% of shares formerly owned by MMC. The remaining 15% continue to be owned by various Mitsubishi Group companies. During his tenure, Mr. Porth led the integration of Mitsubishi Fuso into the global commercial vehicles operations of DaimlerChrysler, affecting all stages of the value chain including areas such as R&D, procurement, production, marketing & sales and finance. On June 18, 2003, Mitsubishi Fuso had announced three key business objectives in the areas of material costs, investment and overseas sales for the period until March 2006 and respectively March 2008. Already after two years, Mitsubishi Fuso is ahead of its targets except for material cost reductions due to the recent increase of raw material prices. Overseas sales increased from 86,900 units in FY 2002 to 118,200 (+ 36%) units in FY 2004, thereby clearly exceeding the original target of a 20% increase after two instead of the planned five years. |
Career in Brief: Harald Boelstler |
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Career in Brief: Keisuke Egashira |
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