Sad news from Mitsubishi: former chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko has passed away at the age of 71.
Masuko’s death comes as no surprise. In June 2019, the Japanese already resigned his role as CEO. Earlier this month, the role of chairman of the board was also abandoned, although it was then still a temporary step. Masuko’s health was then cited as the reason, but unfortunately the Mitsubishi veteran has not recovered.
Masuko is a big name at Mitsubishi, having already assumed the role of (then) President of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in 2007. In June 2014 he was officially awarded the titles of chairman and CEO. Masuko was at the helm of Mitsubishi during several crises and important events. He was there when Mitsubishi got closer to Nissan and with it the Renault-Nissan alliance and got a lot of Carlos Ghosn-related misery on his plate as a result of that event. Then there was also the fiddling with consumption figures, which took a lot of work in 2016. The above photo was taken in 2009, during a factory visit by our own Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende.