Hajime Seikaku has been named the new vice president of Mazda’s European Research & Development Centre. The 53-year-old joins the team at the facility in Oberursel, Germany, from Mazda’s vehicle development division in Japan.
Prior to that he served in various vehicle and parts development capacities for both Mazda and Ford in Europe and Japan. Seikaku first joined Mazda in 1987 having graduated in electrical engineering at Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo.
“Seikaku brings a wealth of vehicle development expertise and knows the requirements and preferences of the European market and its customers very well,” said Mazda Motor Europe president and CEO Jeff Guyton. “We’re delighted to have someone join us with such an invaluable level of experience after more than 30 years at Mazda.”
Seikaku succeeds Matsuhiro Tanaka who had been in the role since September 2016. Tanaka is returning to Japan where he becomes general manager of the chassis dynamics development department.
