Chairman and Representative Director of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Fujio Cho, joined the company in 1960. In 1988 he became Director of TMC and President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. In 1994 he retired from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. President, and in 1998 he became TMC’s Executive VP and a year later its President. In 2005 Cho was appointed TMC’s Vice Chairman and a year later, its chairman. In his capacity as Chairman and Representative of the company today – given that he is working within the Japanese system – he is viewed as the country’s and world’s largest automaker leader. As well, he is only the second “outsider” to head Toyota Motor Co. since the members of the founding Toyoda family stepped aside in 1995.