Koji Watanabe, who currently serves as President and CEO or the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), will retire on January 1, 2027, and current Executive Vice President and Representative Director Keiichi Yasuda will succeed him as the new President and CEO.
Since assuming the position of Operating Officer, Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations, and General Manager of Corporate Communications Division at Honda headquarters in 2020, Watanabe has directed Honda's branding and media strategies, including motorsport activities. In 2022, he assumed the post of President and CEO of HRC, leading Honda's motorsport activities for approximately six years.
His successor, Yasuda, joined Honda out of admiration for its culture and motorcycle racing, having the desire to work at the motorcycle sales division or HRC in Asaka.
He started his career in human resources at Honda HQ, and since then, has gained extensive experience in HR, as well as serving in Asia as president of a local motorcycle subsidiaries, one of his long-cherished ambitions.
Most recently, as Operating Officer and Head of Human Resources Unit - the top position in Honda's HR division - he worked to advance human capital management. He was appointed Executive Vice President and Representative Director of HRC in April of this year.
This executive change is part of a planned periodic personnel rotation designed to strengthen the management structure in response to global transformation and to accelerate business expansion for the next generation.
While such appointments typically take effect on April 1 in Japan, the effective date was set to January 1 this time to align with the seasonality of motorsport and to take on the 2027 season under the new structure right from the beginning.
Yasuda joined Honda in 1990, in 1999 he was assigned to Honda of America Mfg. (Ohio, U.S.A.), handling HR, labour relations, and safety operations. In 2004 he returned to Japan and served as Group Leader and Department Manager in HR and labour relations domains. In 2008 he was assigned to Honda Motor India, managing HR operations for multiple local entities, returned to Tokyo HQ in 2011, where he served as HR Planning Block Leader and Director of Global Human Resource Development Center, among other positions.
In 2015 he was put in charge of HR at Asian Honda Motor (Thailand) for Asia & Oceania Regional Operations, while in 2018 he was appointed President & CEO of Boon Siew Honda (Malaysia) and President Director of Astra Honda Motor (Indonesia) in 2020.
In 2023 he was appointed Operating Officer and Head of Human Resources Unit, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., overseeing company-wide HR system reforms, talent strategy, and human capital management, and in 2026 was appointed Executive Vice President and Representative Director of HRC.
"I consider it my mission to firmly inherit the solid foundation built by Watanabe." said Yasuda. "Evolve it further, unite everyone's vector toward the single goal of winning in races, and make HRC even stronger.
"Leveraging my management experience as president of overseas local entities and my background in HR, I will focus on investing in people and strengthening our organization toward victory. I will devote myself to building an HRC whose challenges resonate with our stakeholders and motorsport fans, so that we can share the emotion of victory together."
"It is my honor serving as a president of HRC with the wonderful colleagues" added Watanabe. "I embarked on the project to integrate automobile racing development into HRC, as I became responsible for the operation and communication of motorsports as Honda's Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations in 2020.
"HRC previously was a motorcycle racing company, and I integrated automobile racing into it. In 2022, I assumed the post of President of the new HRC, unifying both motorcycle and automobile motorsport activities.
"Since then, we decided on our return to F1, expanded our global motorsport structure by reorganizing HPD in the U.S. into HRC US and establishing HRC UK, and worked on building HRC's global brand. For the remaining three months of my presidency, I will continue to do my utmost, aiming for victory until the very end."
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