Hiroaki Sugawara is the new CEO of Isuzu Truck South Africa, replacing Hiroshi Nishizaka who will be taking up a position within the company in Australia.

Sugawara has worked for the Isuzu Motors Corporation for 35 years and has specialised after-sales and truck manufacturing experience. As a senior engineer, he planned the automated chassis assembly and the new cab assembly line for the Isuzu N-series, among other achievements.

He helped establish new service skill criteria, developed the geographical marketing method and increased Isuzu’s aftersales business in Japan.

Referring to himself as “Sugar Water”, he has valuable insight into the Kaizen production philosophy and has extensive knowledge of commercial vehicle sales projects. Furthermore, he has working experience in developing markets like Iran and Uzbekistan.