Atsushi Osaki will become next CEO of Subaru

The Japanese car manufacturer Subaru announced a change in its top management last Friday at a Board of Directors meeting. Tomomi Nakamura, the Representative Director, President, and CEO will leave his position to Atsushi Nakamura, current EVP and Chief General Manager of the manufacturing division.

Nakamura entered the presidency of the company in 2018. As this year concludes the 5-year implementation period of Subaru’s mid-term management vision ‘STEP’, which originated in 2018, Subaru is now aiming to shift to a new management structure “to accelerate the company’s efforts to address the profound transformation that the automotive industry is undergoing”.

Subaru plans “to formulate a new management vision and will strive to achieve it under its new management team,” the press release continues. The resolution of the management change at the top will be officially finalized at Subaru’s 92nd general meeting of shareholders and the subsequent meeting of the board of directors scheduled in June.

Loyal soldier

Atsushi Osaki is a loyal soldier at Subaru. Born in 1962, he graduated from Tokyo University with an engineering degree in 1988 and almost immediately joined Fuji Heavy Industries (now Subaru Corporation). He climbed the ranks and became Senior General Manager of the quality assurance division in 2015, to become Vice President a year later.

In April 2021, he started his current post as Executive Vice President and Chief General Manager of the Manufacturing Division. Two years later, he will ascend to the highest level. Some analysts refer to the recent change at the top of Japan’s number one, where Akio Toyoda will leave the helm to Koji Sato.

As Subaru and Toyota are seriously interlinked, it is said that the two new CEOs at the top of their different companies will share forces to accelerate the electrification of their companies, accusing a delay in the matter. The two bosses are said to be more inclined to electrify their business faster.