Suzuki Motor ex-CEO Osamu Suzuki, who turned the minicar maker into a global player, dies at 94

Osamu Suzuki, the charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. who helped turn the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a globally competitive company, has died, the company said Friday. He was 94.

Suzuki was known for his candid remarks and friendliness, calling himself an "old guy from a small to mid-size company." He became CEO of Suzuki in 1978 and was leading the company when it became the first Japanese automaker to start local production in India, where its cars proved hugely popular.

Born on Jan. 30, 1930 as Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki worked in banking after graduating from Tokyo's Chuo University School of Law. He joined Suzuki Motor, which is based in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, in 1958 when he married a daughter of the company's then-president Shunzo Suzuki, who belonged to the company's founding family. As is sometimes the custom in such situations, Matsuda adopted his wife's maiden name.