Mazda Motor Corporation has announced the following executive personnel changes proposed to take effect on June 24 following the 148^th ordinary general meeting of shareholders and the subsequent meeting of the board of directors.

With the expiration of his term of office, Takashi Yamanouchi, representative director and chairman of the company, will step down, and Seita Kanai, representative director and vice chairman, will be promoted to chairman. With the expiration of his term of office, Kazuyuki Mitate will retire as a full-time member of the Audit & Supervisory Board and Hirofumi Kawamura, executive vice president of Mazda Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd., will be newly appointed.

With regard to Mr. Yamanouchi's retirement, Masamichi Kogai, president and chief executive officer of the company, issued the following statement: "I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Yamanouchi for his hard work and for his tremendous contribution to the company.

"Since joining the company more than 47 years ago, Mr. Yamanouchi has worked primarily in sales, planning, personnel, finance and administration, contributing to the company's growth. Named president and chief executive officer in 2008, just after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Mr. Yamanouchi mobilized the capacities of the Mazda group to navigate through unprecedented hardships. In order to break with the company's history of repeated ups and downs as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate and changes in the market environment, during his tenure, Mr. Yamanouchi took the lead to formulate and implement a structural reform plan, thus restructuring and reinforcing the company's overseas production including a new plant in Mexico, and promoting global alliances.

"Mr. Yamanouchi also concentrated management resources on bringing out Mazda's uniqueness through its SKYACTIV technologies and Kodo-Soul of Motion design. By leveraging Mazda's distinctiveness and competitive edge, he vigorously promoted the reform of the company's entire business, innovations in sales, and strengthening of the brand, and laid the foundation for Mazda's revitalization and sustainable growth.

"In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, the company moved back into the black across the board, and a new line-up of corporate officers took over. Mr. Yamanouchi devoted himself to his duties as chairman, I took over as president, and the entire management team steered the company to break record profits in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. We also achieved the targets of our medium-term profit plan two years ahead of schedule. Along with substantial improvements in the company's stock price and its market capitalization, the number of outstanding shares was optimized, and the company is ready to resume paying dividends. As a result, Mr. Yamanouchi will retire with the expiration of his term of office."

Executives to step down from their positions

Brief Personal Record of New Appointee of Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Hirofumi Kawamura