Masafumi Yoda is the new president for Sanyo Air Conditioners Europe, taking over from his predecessor retiring Katsuhiro Morisaki from October 1.
Mr Morisaki, who served 38 years at Sanyo, will remain with Sanyo Air Conditioners Europe as a senior sales and marketing advisor until the middle of 2008.

Masafumi Yoda said 'As president, Mr Morisaki has made a huge contribution to SAE's spectacular growth, which has far surpassed the industry average, making Sanyo one of the leading air conditioning suppliers in Europe.

Mr Yoda is the former executive vice president and has over 15 years' experience working in Europe.

'I am thrilled to have been appointed to such a pivotal role within Sanyo', said Mr Yoda.

'Air conditioning and refrigeration is one of Sanyo's three core businesses, while Europe remains the most important region for the growth of the air conditioning business. This division therefore has a key role to play in the company's strategic global plans over the next few years.

'2007 has already been a very busy year for Sanyo, with the opening of our new European manufacturing facility in Budapest in April, and the launch of exciting ground breaking products such as CO2 water heaters, the virus washer and solar PV air conditioning.

'As president I am committed to progressing this environmental focus and innovation to ensure that Sanyo becomes the leading provider of energy efficient and environmental solutions.'