Isuzu Malaysia Appoints Koji Nakamura As New CEO

Isuzu Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (IMSB) has appointed Koji Nakamura as its new Chief Executive Officer, who will be overseeing all operational aspects, including sales, after sales and finance for the company.

Nakamura’s experience spans more than 25 years which includes a leading management role in Isuzu Asia Pacific. Furthermore, he has extensive knowledge and understanding in managing various different markets, especially in running large automotive markets such as India and Thailand.

Aiding him will be Mikio Tsukui, COO for Commercial Vehicle Division, and also Masayuki Suzuki, COO for Light Commercial Vehicle Division.  

“I am very excited to take up this new challenge. I have been privileged to manage automotive business units on a global scale, and I will do my very best to bring Isuzu Malaysia to the next level in the local automotive industry”, he said.

Revealing the appointment, the exiting CEO, Kenji Matsuoka, said, “Koji Nakamura has years of extensive experience, which include strategic planning, sales and operations, in addition to helming diverse leadership roles in the competitive automotive industry. I am delighted that I will be passing over the reins to someone with such excellent aptitude, high optimism and fresh perspective to lead this organisation”.

Kenji Matsuoka has held the position of CEO since 2015. During his term, Isuzu Malaysia saw great improvements, from previously being ranked at No. 7, to No. 6 in Malaysia’s top automotive company by volume. Under his direction, Isuzu successfully maintained its position as the No. 1 preferred truck brand in Malaysia. The Isuzu D-Max’s market share also saw a positive improvement of 3.8%, from 10.9% to 14.7%, in the past year.