Osamu Suzuki, who led the Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor for more than four decades and transformed into a global powerhouse, died on Wednesday in Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo. He was 94.

Osamu Suzuki, who ran Suzuki Motor Corp., known for its minicars and motorcycles, across several decades and drove the company’s global expansion, has died. He was 94. Suzuki died of lymphoma on Dec. 25, the company said in a statement.

He built Suzuki Motor into a Japanese global brand making small vehicles and motorcycles. Entering India’s market in the 1980s was one of his early successes.

Osamu Suzuki served as the CEO of Suzuki Motor from 1978 to 2015. He remained a senior advisor of the company until 2021, when he retired at age 91.

Osamu Suzuki, an ingenious penny pincher who led Japan’s Suzuki Motor for more than four decades and played a key role in turning India into a flourishing auto market, has died aged 94.

Suzuki led the car and motorcycle maker that bears his name for more than four decades and was always looking for niches.

Japanese business tycoon and former chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Osamu Suzuki, has died at the age of 94, the company announced on Friday. He had been either president, chairman or chief executive of Suzuki Motor Corporation since 1978.