Suzuki President Resigns, Predecessor Assumes Post

Suzuki Motor Corp. Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki returns to the post of president, a position he relinquished in 2000 after more than two decades of service.

Osamu Suzuki, who is married to the granddaughter of the auto maker’s founder, takes over from current President Hiroshi Tsuda, who is stepping down for health reasons.

In a news conference in Tokyo, Osamu Suzuki, 78, says he decided to reassume the post of president due to the current economic crisis.

“I realize I need to pass the torch at some point, but business conditions have turned south so sharply and suddenly, and I didn’t want to cause any waves,” he says.

Hirotaka Ono, former senior managing director and Osamu Suzuki’s son-in-law, was being groomed to take over as CEO but died of pancreatic cancer last year.