Toyota appoints Finance Chief Kenta Kon as new CEO
The 57-year-old Kenta Kon has been with the Toyota Group since 1991. He built his career in the finance department before being appointed Executive Vice President for Research and Development in 2019. A year later, he became Chief Financial Officer and subsequently joined the board of directors. He later took charge of the startup Woven by Toyota, focusing on software and high-tech, before returning as the group’s CFO in 2025.
Why group CEO Koji Sato (56) is moving into the new role of Vice-Chairman and Chief Industrial Officer just three years after taking over the CEO position from Akio Toyoda remains unclear for now. According to Toyota, Sato will focus on the broader industry, including Toyota, while Kon, as President and CEO, will be responsible for internal corporate leadership.
In a statement, Toyota emphasised the need for accelerated, practical initiatives to foster industry collaboration and strengthen the international competitiveness of Japan’s automotive sector. In this context, Sato, as Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, will play a key role.
Under Koji Sato’s leadership, Toyota’s performance has recently improved. The company’s share price more than doubled during his tenure. According to the quarterly report released alongside the personnel announcement, Toyota has raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2026 to 3.57 trillion yen (19.3 billion euros), up from the previous estimate of 2.93 trillion yen. The company is targeting sales of 11.3 million vehicles across all brands, which would represent a 2.6 percent increase over the 11.01 million units sold in the previous fiscal year.
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