was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Honda Motor is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

from 1990 to 1998.

Biography

After graduating from

Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...

in 1963, he joined the

Honda F1 The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. Honda's involvement in Formula One began with the season, and in 1965 they achieved their fi ...

team as a design engineer. After Honda pulled out of F1 after the 1968 season to focus on production vehicles, he returned to Japan and rose through the company's ranks. In this period, he helped design the front-wheeled 1972

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

, as well as the

CVCC CVCC, or , is an internal combustion engine technology developed and trademarked by the Honda Motor Company. The technology's name refers to its primary features: Compound refers to the use of two combustion chambers; Vortex refers to the vor ...

engine. Eventually, he became head of Honda's Research and Design department. Under Kawamoto, Honda returned to motor racing, first with Formula 2 in 1981. The venture was a success,

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under t ...

-Honda winning three consecutive Formula 2 titles between 1982 and 1984. Honda returned to

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

in 1983, eventually winning six consecutive titles with Williams and

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

. Honda's motor racing success propelled Kawamoto to the top of the company, replacing

Tadashi Kume was a Japanese businessman who was the president and CEO of the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Career Tadashi Kume joined Honda in 1954, eventually becoming Honda's 3rd president in 1983. He specialized in designing engines, and, along with other engin ...

as CEO of Honda in 1990. Kawamoto came in during a tumultuous time for the company, facing product stagnation and an overreliance on sedans and sport coupes while Honda was unrepresented in the fast-growing

sport utility vehicles A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...

and

minivan Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

segments. Following the death of

Soichiro Honda was a Japanese engineer and industrialist. In 1948, he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and oversaw its expansion from a wooden shack manufacturing bicycle motors to a multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer. Early years Honda w ...

in 1991, Japanese media reported in 1992 and 1993 that Honda was at serious risk of an unwanted and hostile takeover by

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Pajero and

Diamante A diamanté (also spelled diamante) is a glittering ornament, such as an artificial jewel (e.g. a rhinestone) or a sequin. Diamante may also refer to: Places Argentina * Diamante, Entre Ríos, a ''municipio'' in Diamante Department * Diamante ...

. Kawamoto acted quickly to change Honda's corporate culture, rushing through market-driven product development that resulted in recreational vehicles such as the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

and the

CR-V The Honda CR-V (also sold as the Honda Breeze in China since 2019) is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda since 1995. The early model was built using the same platform as the Civic. Honda began producing the CR ...

, and a decrease on vehicles that were popular with Honda's engineers but not with the buying public. The most shocking change to Honda came when Kawamoto ended Honda's successful participation in

after the 1992 season, citing costs in light of the takeover threat from

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. These changes paid off as Honda's profits grew from $540 million in Fiscal 1990 to $1.78 billion in Fiscal 1996, and North American sales jumped 9%. Kawamoto also had a love of planes, from watching the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

take off for bombing runs of China during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Kawamoto retired from

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

in 1998, replaced by Hiroyuki Yoshino. In December 1998, he was awarded an honorary knighthood ( KBE) for "valuable contributions to improving relations between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and Japan".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawamoto, Nobuhiko Honda people 1936 births Living people People from Tokyo Tohoku University alumni Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire