Takeo Fukui

President and Chief Executive Officer -- Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Takeo Fukui became the sixth president of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in June 2003. He brings to the challenge a wealth of experience in R&D and manufacturing for Honda's three major product lines - motorcycles, automobiles and power products - together with extensive global experience as the leader of Honda's worldwide racing activities and the company's largest overseas manufacturing complex.

Fukui's more than 33-year career with Honda has included positions as President of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. and head of Honda's global motorsports activities, and President of Honda of America Mfg., Inc., (HAM) in Marysville, Ohio in the mid-90s. Fukui also has served on Honda Motor Co.'s board of directors since June 1988.

Educated as a chemical engineer at Waseda University, Fukui's senior thesis was an analysis of nitrogen oxides (NO2) - possibly the first NO2 study in Japan. Joining Honda in 1969, Fukui was quickly assigned to the team of engineers seeking to meet the challenging exhaust emissions standards of the U.S. Clean Air Act. Rather than employ a catalytic converter to clean the exhaust like other automakers, the Honda team created the cleaner burning Honda CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine - that made the Honda Civic the first car to meet the U.S. Clean Air Act standard.

In 1978, Fukui moved to the Honda R&D Asaka Center and then to the Honda Racing Corp. in 1982, where he devoted almost a decade to Honda's motorcycle racing activities - during this time Honda won its first World Grand Prix motorcycle championship in 1983. Fukui advanced to a succession of positions, culminating in 1987, when he became president of Honda Racing.

After 19 years with Honda R&D, Fukui was appointed to the Board of Directors of Honda Motor Co. in 1988. Later, as Senior Managing Director of Honda R&D, Fukui also assumed the entire responsibility for the motorcycle development from 1987 to 1992.

In 1992, Fukui left R&D to become General Manager of the Hamamatsu Factory - a diverse production facility with responsibility for the manufacture of motorcycles, power products and auto transmissions. In 1994, Fukui moved to the U.S. as Executive Vice President of HAM in Ohio, a major production base that includes four different plants. Fukui advanced to the position of President of HAM in 1996, overseeing the company as its production volume expanded significantly - including the first Acura model built in North America - to meet increasing customer demand in the U.S.

In 1998, Fukui returned to Japan as President of Honda R&D, his current post, and was promoted to Senior Managing Director of Honda Motor Co. in 1999 with the additional responsibility for Honda's motorsports activities, including Formula One Grand Prix racing.

Fukui's tenure as president of Honda R&D included important advancements toward meeting both the environmental and safety challenges - including the commercial launch of the world's first government certified fuel cell electric vehicles and the opening of Honda's omni-directional crash test safety facility - the largest facility of its kind in the world.