Denso in North America, a mobility supplier headquartered in Southfield, has named Hirokatsu Yamashita president of Denso Products and Services Americas Inc. Yamashita took charge of the aftermarket products and services arm of the advanced mobility supplier on June 1.
The appointment follows personnel and organizational changes announced in March that are designed to enable Denso to act more efficiently in the face of rapid industry change.
In his new executive role, Yamashita oversees more than 600 employees of all Denso products and services Americas groups.
Yamashita joined Denso in 1993 after earning his bachelor’s degree in law from Waseda University in Tokyo. He has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the corporation’s overseas network, as well as Denso headquarters in Japan. Yamashita brings more than 26 years of experience with Denso in its sales, business planning, and administrative operations.
In 2008, Yamashita became the general manager of business planning at Denso Turkey, which operates the thermal products manufacturing and exporting within Europe. He was promoted to vice president in 2011.
In 2013, Yamashita returned to Denso Japan, where he led the product development operations of the aftermarket business planning department.
In 2016, he was promoted to lead the department as general manager. Over the last two years, his duties grew to include serving as a board member of two entities: a joint venture compressor manufacturing and sales company in China, where he served as a shareholder since 2014, as well as a cell phone distribution/mobile solutions company in Japan where he served as a shareholder since 2017.
Denso is a $48.3 billion global mobility supplier that develops vehicle technology and components. It has 221 facilities in 35 countries to produce thermal, powertrain, mobility, electrification, and electronic systems.
In the United States, Denso employs more than 17,000 people across 13 states and 25 sites. Worldwide, it has more than 170,000 employees.
