Eiji Iwakuni, who on April 1 became the new president of Ford Motor Co. (Japan) Ltd., knows the carmaker did not hire him for his English-speaking ability.
Iwakuni says he is not fluent in English but did not feel much culture shock in coming to the American company. "I am not going to try hard to improve my English. My role is to improve this company's business performance -- its sales, profitability and presence in Japan," said Iwakuni, 56, a 30-year veteran at Honda Motor Co. before his move to Ford.
"I have a feeling that I can produce a bigger impact than the one I made at Honda," he said in a recent interview with The Japan Times.