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Toyota CEO Koji Sato to step down
Toyota City: Toyota Motor Corporation is redrawing its power map, carving up the top job as it braces for a more turbulent automotive era and a faster pivot towards mobility.
The Japanese carmaker said it will revamp its executive structure from April 1st 2026, moving Koji Sato from president and chief executive to vice chairman and a newly created chief industry officer, while elevating Kenta Kon to president and chief executive. Board-level changes will follow from the date of the company’s 122nd ordinary general shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for June 2026.
The logic is blunt: split the outward-looking industry and policy role from the grind of running the company. Sato will range across the broader industrial landscape, while Kon will run Toyota’s internal management.
Toyota says the shift is designed to accelerate decision-making amid rapid internal and external change and to build a structure that better serves its mission of contributing to society through industry.
The backdrop is a car business under strain from electrification, software, new rivals and geopolitical risk. Toyota argues that deeper industry collaboration is now essential to protect international competitiveness. In that context, Sato’s parallel roles loom large.
Sato is set to play a central part as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, or JAMA, a role the industry body asked him to assume in October 2025 after he had been serving as its vice chairman. Toyota’s board approved his appointment as JAMA chairman from January 2026, framing industry contribution as part of the firm’s duty.
He also serves as vice chair of Keidanren, Japan’s business federation, a post he took up in May 2025, where he is expected to push policy proposals centred on monozukuri, or manufacturing, and broader industrial cooperation.
Toyota’s ambitions go beyond the car sector. As it morphs into a mobility company, it wants partnerships outside the traditional automotive orbit as well as within it.
Inside the firm, the priorities are more prosaic but pressing: lift earning power and lower the break-even volume needed to stay profitable. Toyota says this demands company-wide reform across the entire value chain, not siloed fixes.
That is where Kon comes in. As chief financial officer, he has been leading efforts to strengthen Toyota’s earnings structure. He has also picked up cross-functional management experience at Woven by Toyota, the group’s technology arm. The company is betting that a finance-hardened operator can tighten performance while steering transformation.
Top appointments at Toyota are treated as long-term strategic matters. Candidates are reviewed continuously by the executive appointment meeting, which vets director nominations to ensure independence. The body comprises two independent outside directors, Shigeaki Okamoto and Kumi Fujisawa, and one internal director, Yoichi Miyazaki. Its proposals are then decided by the board and formally approved at shareholders’ meetings.
After weighing the strain of one person holding the trio of roles of Toyota’s top executive, JAMA chairman and Keidanren vice chair, the group concluded a split structure was cleaner. The new line-up was proposed at the executive appointment meeting and approved by the board on February 6th.
Other responsibility shifts follow. From April 1st, Yoichi Miyazaki becomes executive vice president, board member and representative director with the additional role of chief financial officer.
Board changes will be formalised in June. Koji Sato will resign his current board post and continue as vice chairman and chief industry officer. Kenta Kon is slated to become president, board member and representative director alongside his role as chief executive.
The message from Toyota is unmistakable: in a harsher, faster industry, governance must be as adaptive as technology. With one leader scanning the horizon and another gripping the tiller, the world’s biggest carmaker is tuning its engine for the next lap. Whether the new gearbox shifts smoothly will be watched far beyond Toyota City.
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Angel One Q4 profit surges 83 per cent to Rs 320cr
year net profit dips 22 per cent to Rs 915cr as revenue softens slightly to Rs 5,137cr.
MUMBAI: Angel One has just earned its wings in style delivering a blockbuster Q4 that proves the brokerage giant is still flying high even in a cautious market. Standalone revenue from operations for the three months ended 31 March 2026 rose sharply to Rs 1,459cr, up from Rs 1,056cr a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 1,467cr. After all expenses, profit before tax came in at Rs 440cr, while net profit for the quarter surged 83 per cent to Rs 320cr (versus Rs 175cr last year). Basic EPS stood at Rs 3.52 and diluted at Rs 3.44.
For the full year ended 31 March 2026, revenue from operations was Rs 5,137cr compared with Rs 5,238cr in FY25. Total income reached Rs 5,152cr. Profit before tax was Rs 1,272cr, and net profit came in at Rs 915cr (down from Rs 1,172cr). Basic EPS was Rs 10.09 (from Rs 13.00) and diluted Rs 9.85 (from Rs 12.68).
Total comprehensive income for the quarter stood at Rs 321cr, while the full-year figure was Rs 913cr.
The strong quarterly performance reflects robust growth in interest income (Rs 455cr) and fees & commission (Rs 1,000cr), even as the full-year numbers moderated amid a softer overall environment. Finance costs rose to Rs 134cr in Q4 (full year Rs 437cr), while employee benefits stood at Rs 244cr for the quarter (full year Rs 1,067cr).
In a year when many brokers felt the pinch of muted market activity, Angel One has delivered a sparkling Q4 that shows its core broking engine is firing on all cylinders. With the books now closed on FY26, the Mumbai-based player has once again demonstrated that consistent execution and a sharp focus on retail participation continue to pay rich dividends in India’s booming capital markets.
