Up until now, Operational Director (COO) of Yamaha Europe, Eric de Seynes – who happens to be also chairman of the supervisory board of the luxury group Hermès - of which he is one of the heirs - has just been appointed to the European presidency of the Japanese group.

Clear round for Eric de Seynes, the new boss of Yamaha Europe

Operational Director – COO (Chief Operational Officer) - of Yamaha Motor Europe since 2015, Éric de Seynes was appointed on March 25, 2016, Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Corporation (Japan), a first for a Japanese industrial group that opened this distinction of Executive Officer historically reserved for the leaders of Japanese nationality to a European.

A big first for a Japanese group

Taking the lead of Yamaha Motor Europe, the French opens a new path, because never again a "non-Japanese" had led the business over a continent.

This appointment did not surprise anyone at Yamaha France, where Éric de Seynes was president from 2010 to 2014, and - as such - at the head of the French subsidiary was very much appreciated, as a dedicated and committed man and a man of passion working tirelessly to the development of mobility and technologies of two-wheelers in Europe and in the World, their integration into society while supporting racing, a laboratory for the innovations of tomorrow.

Éric de Seynes, a man with an extensive field experience, tests products as part of their development - a step he takes and which will have led him to refuse a position of general manager in the automobile sector, something almost impossible to do – he will meet with branches and dealerships from all over Europe to understand the specificities and expectations of each, as expectations are different across the 41 countries controlled and run by Yamaha Motor Europe.

Man engaged and driven by the desire to streamline production tools, Éric de Seynes actively defended the modernization of MBK Industrie, the French plant of the Yamaha Group, so that it can produce large-displacement motorcycles as well as its current best-sellers such as XMAX 125, XMAX 300 and XMAX 400 scooters.

Man of passion, Eric de Seynes will have seen his career nourished and guided by his passion for adventure and competition: bajas - rally-raid with two Dakar rallies, a rally of Tunisia he finished 3 rd in the amateur category - many participations for 20 years at speed and endurance competitions, and also participation in classic car races ...

An Exceptional Career

A young graduate of ESLSCA Paris Business School, his first steps in the business immediately led him to the circuits, be it in Mobil Oil's marketing and motorsport, or as Seita's sponsorship director.

It is there that he observes the drivers, understands the talents that make the great champions and meets Jean-Claude Olivier, the head pilot of Yamaha Motor France.

Between the two men, another adventure is woven, human this one, between the boss who installed Yamaha in France and the one who will succeed him one day at the head of Yamaha Motor France and who will go to defend beyond the French borders, their shared vision of two-wheelers, the values they convey and the economic impact they represent.

We can say that the goal is reached today with Éric de Seynes who becomes president of a company whose consolidated turnover amounts to 1.7 billion euros in 2017 and positions the company to the No. 1 place in the European market for motorcycles and outboard motors, and in the top three manufacturers in all other markets in which the Japanese group is positioned: scooters, quads, golf cars, snowmobiles, boats, marine-jets ...