BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — WABCO Holdings Inc., a global technology leader and tier-one supplier to the commercial vehicle industry, has appointed an executive to the newly created position of chief quality officer, who will report to the company’s CEO.
Kazuo Kawashima joins WABCO as chief quality officer, responsible for further powering how WABCO ingrains quality across the value chain throughout its global organization. Further enhancing WABCO’s Operating System, one of the commercial vehicle industry’s most advanced management systems, Kawashima will reinforce the company’s capabilities to satisfy customer expectations for quality, service and value.
WABCO says this appointment further strengthens the company’s senior leadership team and the company’s continued commitment to its three-pillar strategy of technology leadership, global expansion and excellence in execution.
Most recently, Kawashima was president of Ichikoh Industries Ltd., a publicly listed company in Japan and manufacturer of vehicular lighting supplied to the automotive industry. Previously, Kawashima was vice president quality at Valeo, based in Paris. Prior to that, Kawashima held senior positions in quality, operations and engineering based in Japan and Mexico at Nissan Motor Co.
"This new executive role reflects the evolution of WABCO’s commitment to the highest standards of quality across every function and in each location globally as we strive to grow quality in everything we do as a differentiator in how we continue to satisfy customers," said Jacques Esculier, WABCO chairman and CEO.
"Kazuo Kawashima has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry gained on three continents in diverse positions in engineering and manufacturing and as a business leader in world class companies like Valeo and Nissan," said Esculier. "The richness of Kazuo Kawashima’s experience and his superb achievements give him an outstanding ability to ingrain quality in all aspects of our company."
