By Yoko Kubota
TOKYO--Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday named a non-Japanese
executive vice president for the first time in the company's nearly
eight-decade history, reflecting the importance of the auto maker's
overseas business.
Didier Leroy, a 57-year-old French national who currently
oversees Toyota's European business, will become executive vice
president, Toyota said. Mr. Leroy, currently a senior managing
officer, joined Toyota in 1998 after working at Renault SA for 16
years.
Toyota also named Julie Hamp as managing officer, adding to the
small number of non-Japanese in the company's top ranks. Ms. Hamp
is currently chief communications officer of Toyota Motor North
America.
The move by the world's best-selling auto maker marks a shift
for Japan, where top posts at major corporations are mostly held by
Japanese men. Recently, some companies have brought in more foreign
and female executives. On Wednesday, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said
it would promote Christophe Weber, a Frenchman who is currently
president and chief operating officer, to president and chief
executive officer effective April 1.
Japanese companies are under pressure from Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe to diversify their ranks. Mr. Abe has set a target of women
holding 30% of top positions by 2020.
Toyota, Japan's biggest company by profits and market
capitalization, sells around 83% of its vehicles outside of Japan
and manufactures around two-thirds of its vehicles overseas. Its
biggest rivals are Germany's Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.
of the U.S.
Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota Motor's
founder, has been taking steps to bring in executives of different
backgrounds. In 2013 the company added directors from outside
Toyota for the first time, including Mark Hogan, an American and a
former GM executive.
Write to Yoko Kubota at yoko.kubota@wsj.com
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