Suzuki Motor was run by four adopted sons in a row, including Osamu Suzuki, who married into the family and ran it for 43 years

Osamu Matsuda was born on 30 January 1930 in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, and worked as a bank loan officer. In the late 1950s he married Shoko Suzuki, granddaughter of founder Michio Suzuki. The family had no male heir, so he took the Suzuki name and became the company's fourth adopted son to lead it. In Japan about 98 percent of adoptions are of adults, mostly men aged 25 to 30. A 2011 NBER study found family firms run by adopted heirs outperform those run by blood heirs. Suzuki joined the company in 1958 and was president from 1978 to 2000 and chairman from 2000 to 2021. In 1982 Suzuki and the Indian government formed Maruti Udyog. He chose his son-in-law Hirotaka Ono as successor over his own son. Ono died of pancreatic cancer in December 2007, and Osamu took charge again. By April 2011 he had set up a four-person board led by his biological son, Toshihiro Suzuki. Toshihiro became president in 2015^†. Osamu retired in June 2021 and died of malignant lymphoma on 25 December 2024, aged 94. The funeral was for close family only. The company's death notice named Toshihiro as eldest son and chief mourner. In 2026 Toshihiro leads the company.