Former CEO of Honda between 1990 and 1998, he worked on the original Honda F1 project after graduating from university, working as a design engineer. After Honda left F1, he concentrated on production vehicles, and this is where he rose up the ranks. He helped design the front-wheeled Honda Civic, then became head of Honda's R & D department, which he was still heading when the firm returned to F1. His time as Honda CEO was a rocky one at times - the death of Soichiro Honda, the withdrawal of their F1 engines at the end of 1992 and financial struggles at times sometimes overshadowed the fact that he handed the business over in 1998 in a better position than when he took it over. Awarded a KBE for improving relationships between Britain and Japan, he retired in 1998 and now enjoys watching vintage planes and remains an adviser for Honda.

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