UD Trucks announces new president

UD Trucks today announced that Takamitsu Sakamaki will be appointed new President and Representative Director as of October 1, 2018. He is a long-standing UD Trucks veteran with deep and broad knowledge of the company and the commercial vehicles industry.

• The current President and Representative Director of UD Trucks Corporation, Yoshihiro Murakami, will step down from his position as both President and Director on September 30, 2018.
• Takamitsu Sakamaki, currently Senior Vice President of UD Trucks Operations, will become President and Representative Director in addition to his current responsibilities as of October 1, 2018.

After joining the Company in 2008, Yoshihiro Murakami was appointed President in 2015. He has undertaken a number of improvement programs to position UD Trucks as the company of choice and a true business partner to our customers. Most recently, in 2017, he oversaw UD Trucks’ largest model changeover ever of vehicles and services that meet the diverse needs of customers in Japan and international markets.

UD Trucks Chairman, Joachim Rosenberg, commented: “Under Murakami-san’s leadership, the past years transformation phase at UD Trucks will soon be completed, with a significant changeover of vehicles and services gaining ground in both Japan and other major markets. We now see greater employee engagement, improving customer satisfaction, strengthening heavy-duty market share and higher profitability. He has made outstanding contributions to our company. On behalf of many grateful colleagues, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Rosenberg continued: “At the same time, our incoming President, Takamitsu Sakamaki, possess wide and deep experience of UD Trucks and our commercial vehicle industry that will serve us well as we take on the opportunities of the future, including new investments into automation, connectivity and electro mobility.”

Takamitsu Sakamaki said: “I will soundly inherit the duties as President of UD Trucks, and further continue to improve effectiveness and efficiency of UD Trucks for the benefit of our customers and colleagues.”

After graduating from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Waseda University in 1980, Sakamaki-san joined then Nissan Diesel Motor Co., Ltd. the same year. He has since then engaged in all operational aspects, from diesel engine production engineering through to vehicle quality assurance. In 2010, he was appointed Vice President of Powertrain Production and led the efforts to integrate Japanese and global technology and culture following the Volvo Group’s acquisition of the company. Since 2016, he is the Senior Vice President of UD Trucks Operations and will now in 2018 add further to this responsibility.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Info.udtrucks.global@udtrucks.co.jp
Etsuko Kurihashi, UD Trucks Communications

UD Trucks is a leading Japanese total transport solution provider. UD Trucks was established in Japan in 1935, and became a part of the Volvo Group in 2007. UD Trucks has its headquarters in Japan and expanded its sales network to more than 60 countries worldwide. At UD Trucks, our mission is to provide the added value of Ultimate Dependability derived from UD to our company’s products as well as an unsurpassed level of excellence for our customers.