Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has announced the appointment of Yasutake Tsuchida to Senior Director of Design with immediate effect. In this role, Tsuchida will oversee design operations, including next-generation vehicle planning and brand strategy development.

Tsuchida joins the MNAO team with more than 22 years of experience at Mazda's headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan. He most recently served as the Chief Designer of the latest generation of the Mazda3, which launched in November 2018 and went on to win the 2020 World Car Design of the Year award.

Tsuchida was also the Chief Designer of the Kai Concept, and in the late 2000's Tsuchida worked in the Design Studio at MNAO, where he led design on the Furai concept car. Tsuchida began his career at Mazda specialising on exterior design and in the late 1990's and in the early 2000's was lead designer for the Mazda3, CX-7 and the Ryuga concept car.

Tsuchida's approach to design focuses on timeless beauty, and in his designs he aspires to evoke strong human emotion to give them energy and enthusiasm, with his favourite Mazda being the RX-7.