Toyo Tire rejigs top management, appoints new Chairman

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd has made major changes to its top management. The company appointed a new Chairman and President. In addition to this, it also selected four new director candidates who will be voted during the extraordinary shareholders meeting on November 12, 2015.

Katsumi Komaguchi is named as the company's new Chairman and Director, while Takashi Shimizu has been allocated the position of President and Representative Director of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd.

Takashi Shimizu is presently serving as the Senior Corporate Officer and General Manager of the tyre planning division of the company.

Few months ago, a scandal disrupted the company's business and shook the management. The company was involved in providing non-compliant earthquake-proof seismic isolation rubber bearings to buildings in Japan. In June, the tyre maker said that it would replace its existing management team to take responsibility.

The Chairman at that time Akira Nobuki and former President Takuji Yamamoto, both resigned from their position due to the seismic rubber controversy. Apart from them, seven other corporate officers or advisers also announced their resignations, retirements or were demoted by the company.

Toyo Tire wanted the new Chairman to be from outside the company and therefore, Komaguchi fulfilled that criteria. In the past, Komaguchi had worked with Kyocera Corp. for a long time. He joined Kyocera Corp. in March 1986 and after shuffling through major senior positions in the company including Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2013, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman and Representative Director of Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. in April 2015. He continued working with the company till September 19, 2015.

Komaguchi will start working with Toyo in October as an adviser. Shimizu, on the other hand, has been working with Toyo since 1985 and went on to become the President of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. in 2010. He served as the Corporate Officer in 2014 and eventually took the position of Senior Corporate Officer in July 2015.