Osamu Masuko, President of Mitsubishi Motors today opened the race for who will succeed him in leading the company in the future. “We will change the traditional seniority system,” Masuko told a small group of reporters, assembled at the company’s Tokyo HQ today. Flanked by Mitsubishi Motors Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Masuko said that his company “decided to allow the CEO selection among all corporate officers, because it is better to select from a wider pool.”
Mitsubishi Motors became a member of the Renault-Nissan Alliance when Nissan achieved control of the company last year. Ghosn said today that retaining Masuko as the president was one of his conditions to buy a controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors. Subsequently, key positions of Mitsubishi Motors were filled with former Nissan execs. Nissan veteran Trevor Mann was made COO, Nissan’s former R&D chief Mitsuhiko Yamashita joined Mitsubishi, Datsun chief Vincent Cobee followed as head of product. Masuko, aged 67, said that “the new president should be responsible for the total business from April on.” He did not specify which April.
