CYPRESS, Calif. (March 12, 2010)—Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. President Masaharu Yoshimoto is retiring after 38 years with Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. and will be succeeded by Takashi Shimizu, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Cypress-based company.
Yoshimoto, president of Toyo Tire Holdings since January 2009, will retire March 31. Prior to that he was president and CEO of Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. and a senior corporate officer of parent Toyo Tire & Rubber. He also was managing director and CEO of Toyo Tyre & Rubber Australia Ltd. before moving to the U.S. in 2005.
Shimizu is a 25-year Toyo Tire veteran, joining the Osaka, Japan-based company in the accounting and finance and planning departments. He first moved to the U.S. in April 2007 as vice president and chief financial officer of Toyo Tire U.S.A. He was involved in the establishment of Toyo Tire Holdings and has served as senior vice president and chief financial officer since its inception in January 2008.
He also served six years as general manager of accounting and finance for Toyo Tires in Germany in the mid-1990s.
Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas oversees Toyo Tire U.S.A., Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc., Nitto Tire Canada Inc., Toyo Tire Mexico LLC and Toyo Tire North America OE Sales L.L.C.