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Akio Toyoda TOYOTA

As the name suggests , Akio Toyoda is the latest in a long family line of Toyoda ’ s at the top of the Toyota organisation . Officially joining the company in 1984 , it was another 16 years until he joined the board of directors , and another nine after that before he was announced as the new President of the business in 2009 . The 57-year-old has not only had to ensure that the world ’ s largest and leanest automaker stayed on top , but has also had to do so through the global recession and 2011 ’ s natural disaster in Japan . Overcoming the effects of the tsunami played a large part in him being named Autocar ’ s Man of the Year a year later as he continues to maintain the positive reputation of a family which has sat in the upper echelons of the business since 1937 .