Osamu Suzuki, historic president of the company of the same name, passed away on Dec. 25 at the age of 94 from lymphoma. Osamu Suzuki, born Matsuda, assumed the surname under which he went down in history after marrying the granddaughter of founder Michio Suzuki, who created the company on March 15, 1920.
From 1967, he was at the helm of the Suzuki Motor Company until 2021, when he passed the baton to his eldest son Toshihiro, making it one of the longest-lived family-owned businesses, an exceptional case especially for the automotive industry, which is increasingly dominated by conglomerate and holding company logics.
Suzuki and outboard motors
From Suzuki’s birth in 1920, it took 45 years for the Japanese brand to make its entry into the motor world outboards. The first was the Suzuki D55.
During Osamu Suzuki’s presidency a number of amazing technologies were developed and introduced. This also reverberated in the outboard market and made a crucial contribution to the popularity of these engines as we know them today.
See here all the major milestones in the history of Suzuki outboard engines.
About Osamu Suzuki
A charismatic and decisive leader, he was not afraid to get his hands dirty by leaving the office to visit the various branches, both at home and abroad, including Italy. He transformed Suzuki into the international giant it is today, knowing how to read the technical and cultural changes the company was going through.
Like his Japanese colleagues, having abandoned diesel as a power source, he had nevertheless remained cautious about full electric, preferring a wide range of hybrid solutions, more or less electrified. And who knows if this philosophy will not be applied in the marine market as well.
