Tom Sumner was named president of Yamaha Corp. of America (YCA) effective April 1. This is the first time that the world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer, Hamamatsu, Japan-based Yamaha Corp. has named an American executive to the top position in the United States. YCA was founded in 1960.
Sumner succeeds Hitoshi Fukutome, who will return to Yamaha Corp. Headquarters in Hamamamtsu, Japan as senior general manager of Asia-Pacific Sales.
Fukutome has served as president of YCA since March 2013. Under his leadership, YCA has enjoyed significant growth in sales, operating income, and brand awareness.
“It has been my deep privilege and honor to lead YCA for the past five years, and I am extremely grateful to our exceptional team for their support and dedication,” said Fukutome. “I am particularly proud of our company’s business performance during my tenure, and I know that Tom will bring continued success to YCA.”
In his new role, Sumner will lead Yamaha operations in the United States and oversee the Americas. He is a 30-year veteran of YCA and has most recently served as senior vice president of the company since June 2008. For nearly 10 years, he has led or co-led sales and marketing including the in-house creative agency — the Customer Experience Group — Corporate Marketing, Artist Relations and End-User Support. The Keyboard division, AV division, Professional Audio division and Car Parts division also reported to him.
“I am so humbled by the opportunity to lead the talented YCA team here in the United States,” said Sumner. “Hitoshi has set a high standard of excellence, and I look forward to building upon his success and strengthening our team and our brand, our dealer base and our focus on, and dedication to, our customers.”