Shoichiro Toyoda was a Japanese business executive who served as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation from 1992 to 1999 and was credited for pushing the company into North America and beyond, setting it on the direction of becoming one of the world’s most powerful automakers. Toyoda was born to Kiichiro and Hatako Toyoda, his father Kiichiro was the founder of Toyota Motor stemming it off from an automatic loom manufacturer started by his grandfather, Sakichi. The "d" in their last name has bee... moreShoichiro Toyoda was a Japanese business executive who served as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation from 1992 to 1999 and was credited for pushing the company into North America and beyond, setting it on the direction of becoming one of the world’s most powerful automakers. Toyoda was born to Kiichiro and Hatako Toyoda, his father Kiichiro was the founder of Toyota Motor stemming it off from an automatic loom manufacturer started by his grandfather, Sakichi. The "d" in their last name has been changed to "t" because it looked better when written in Japan. Toyoda attended Nagoya University and served in the army for a brief period. He joined the company at 27 as a director of the inspection department but quickly rose up the company’s ranks. Toyoda made a partnership with General Motors to increase its American sales and to penetrate the market there. When Toyoda stepped down from his role as president in 1992 to become the company’s chairman, he had plants in 22 countries and was competing with its former partner, General Motors, for the title of the world’s largest automaker, which it won in 2008. In 2007, he was inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame.
