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BROWNSTOWN TWP., MICH. – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) today announced the executive structure for their recently established joint venture company, Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, LLC (FCSM).
Suheb Haq of GM will serve as the first president of FCSM, and Tomomi Kosaka of Honda will be the new company's vice president. Haq and Kosaka will be responsible for operations, overseeing the start-up of the JV and ongoing manufacturing operations. GM and Honda plan to rotate the positions of president and vice president every two years.
Haq most recently was director of GM Operational Excellence. Kosaka was president & CEO of Honda of America Mfg., Inc., responsible for manufacturing operations of three auto plants and an engine plant in Ohio.
Further, FCSM will include a board of directors consisting of three executives from each company that will include a rotating chairperson.
Representing Honda on the FCSM board of directors are:

• Takashi Sekiguchi, Managing Officer and Director/Chief Operating Officer, Automobile Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
• Mitsugu Matsukawa, Operating Officer/ Chief Operating Officer, IT Operations/ Head of Production Planning Supervisory Unit, Production Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
• Rick Schostek, Executive Vice President, Honda North America, Inc.

Sekiguchi will serve as the first chairperson of the FCSM board of directors.
Representing GM on the FCSM board of directors are:

• Charles Freese, Executive Director, Global Fuel Cell Business
• David Maday, Executive Director, Corporate Development
• Robert Portugaise, Executive Director, Manufacturing Engineering

FCSM was established with equal investments from Honda and GM totaling $85 million, creating the auto industry's first manufacturing joint venture to mass-produce an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system that will be used in future products from each company. FCSM will operate within GM's existing battery pack manufacturing facility site in Brownstown, Michigan, south of Detroit. Mass production of fuel cell systems is expected to begin around 2020 and create nearly 100 new jobs.
Honda and GM established a master collaboration agreement that was announced in July 2013. It established the co-development arrangement for a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies. The companies integrated their development teams and shared hydrogen fuel cell intellectual property to create a more affordable commercial solution for fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems.
About General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets.  GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com  
About Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) Honda designs, manufactures and markets automobiles, motorcycles, power products and aviation products worldwide. A global leader in powertrain and electromotive technologies, Honda produces nearly 28 million engines annually for its three product lines. Honda and its partners build products in more than 60 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing more than 208,000 associates globally.
 
Executive Biographies:
Honda:
Tomomi Kosaka is the vice president of Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC, and is responsible for operations, overseeing the start-up of the JV and ongoing manufacturing operations together with FCSM president Suheb Haq.  In addition, Kosaka is an operating officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.  Prior to joining FCSM, Kosaka was president & CEO of Honda of America Mfg., Inc., responsible for manufacturing operations of three auto plants and an engine plant in Ohio.
Kosaka's powertrain experience includes serving as general manager of the Power Train Production Engineering Division of Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. in 2007, as engine division manager at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC in 2008 and chief engineer and plant manager of the Anna Engine Plant in Anna, Ohio. Honda's largest auto engine plant in the world.
Kosaka joined Honda in April 1984 at Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. in Japan.
Honda members of the FCSM LLC board include:
Takashi Sekiguchi is the Chief Operating Officer of Automobile Operations as well as a Managing Officer and Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Sekiguchi's experience includes a variety of positions in sales and product planning in Japan, the U.S. and Asia.  His overseas assignments have included serving as president of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc., executive vice president and director of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and president and director of Honda Canada Inc.
Sekiguchi's responsibilities in Japan have included serving as general manager, Product Planning & Marketing Office for Automobile Operations and executive in charge of Sales Strategy for Automobile Operations, before assuming his current responsibilities.
Sekiguchi joined Honda Motor Co. in 1982.
Mitsugu Matsukawa is the Chief Operating Officer of IT Operations, Head of the Production Planning Supervisory Unit of Production Operations, as well as an Operating Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Matsukawa's experience includes serving as General Manager of the Global Production System Office for Production Operations, General Manager of the Hamamatsu Factory in Japan, Vice President of Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Head of the Drivetrain Business Unit for Automobile Production in Japan, Head of Drivetrain Business Unit for Automobile Production and Head of the Supply Chain Management Supervisory Unit for Automobile Production – before assuming his current responsibilities.
Matsukawa joined Honda Motor Co. in 1985.
Rick Schostek is the executive vice president of Honda North America, Inc., with responsibility for business planning and support, including the areas of regional planning, finance, corporate communications, information services, government & industry relations, HR & administration, office of inclusion & diversity, law and audit. Schostek also is a member of Honda's North American Regional Operating Board and the company's Risk Management Officer.
Schostek's experience includes stints at three different Honda manufacturing operations in the U.S., including leadership roles at Honda of America Mfg. in Ohio, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama and Honda Manufacturing of Indiana.
Schostek joined Honda of America Mfg. in 1987.
Schostek also is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers.
General Motors:
Suheb Haq, president of Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC, will be responsible for operations, overseeing the start-up of the JV and ongoing manufacturing operations and reports to the JV Board of directors.  Within General Motors, Haq reports to Charles Freese, executive director of General Motors Global Fuel Cell Business.
Haq most recently was director of GM Operational Excellence. He has broad global and functional experience, including assignments in China, India and Italy across Operations, Engineering, Program/Project Management and Strategic Planning. He was director of GM-Shanghai Automotive Industries JV, vice president Powertrain and plant director in India, and global program manager of Small Diesel Engines.
GM members of the FCSM LLC board include:
Charles Freese, executive director of Global Fuel Cell Business, responsible for research, development, application engineering, laboratories, manufacturing, demonstration programs, and strategic initiatives.
Freese is Chairman of H2USA – promoting hydrogen refueling infrastructure development for fuel cell electric vehicles in the United States. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Committee, advising the Secretary of Energy and The U.S. Congress on hydrogen fuel cells and refueling infrastructure.
Rob Portugaise, executive director of Manufacturing Engineering, Global Propulsion Systems, where he is responsible for designs, development, procurement and implementation of efficient manufacturing systems to produce world-class propulsion systems.
Portugaise has been an executive in North America, Europe and GM's International Operations, including oversight of a greenfield startup in Thailand. He also worked at Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario assembly plant.
Dave Maday, executive director of Corporate Development and Global Mergers & Acquisitions, is a 17-year GM veteran with a variety of global leadership assignments, including two years at GM's Opel Headquarters in Germany. Maday's background includes Forecasting, Market Analysis and Customer Research, Product Planning and Strategy, Program Management and Financial Analysis.
Prior to GM, Maday spent six years in sales and consulting at Polk, a leader in global automotive intelligence now part of IHS Markit.

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