Toyota Announces Major Management Shakeup: CFO Kenta Kon to be New CEO and President

Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan, has announced several changes to its top management and board of directors, effective from April 1 this year. Kenta Kon, the company’s current Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, will take over as President and Chief Executive Officer. With his finance background, having joined the company in 1991, he will focus on profitability and improving Toyota’s product offerings as well as manufacturing efficiency. 

Koji Sato, the current CEO, President and Member of the Board of Directors, will take over as Vice Chairman and will also serve as Chief Industry Officer, a newly created role. He was CEO for just three years, rising through the ranks after he joined the company in 1992. Sato also serves as Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, and Vice Chair of Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation). Yoichi Miyazaki will hold on to his positions as EVP, Member of the Board of Directors and Operating Officer, while also taking on the CFO role. 

In a press statement, the company said this new division of responsibilities is intended to help speed up decision-making and create a more streamlined structure to help the company navigate today’s internal and external market realities. While Sato will be responsible for managing the company’s broader industry focus, Kon will handle its internal management. Kon is also charged with leading “reforms across the entire company” to improve earnings. 

Toyota, like many of its Japanese competitors, is facing challenges in the global business environment amid serious competition from Chinese manufacturers and increased barriers to international trade. The new management appointments are intended to help with modernisation and agility to boost competitiveness across the world. The company is expected to focus on improving its manufacturing and industrial capabilities as it broadens its scope to a wider mobility solutions company. 

Toyota has held on to its spot as the world’s top carmaker by global sales volume in 2025, and its RAV4 SUV is the year's best-selling model, with 1.187 million units sold. The management change updates came during the company’s Q3 earnings call, when it announced a 43 percent YoY drop in net profit of ¥1.3 billion (approximately $8.27 billion) but raised its full-year net profit forecast by 22 percent, now coming in at ¥3.57 trillion (approximately $22.7 billion).