Osamu Suzuki, who led Suzuki Motor Corp. for several decades, overseeing its global expansion and making the company known for its small cars and motorcycles, died on Christmas Day at age 94. According to a company statement, Suzuki died of lymphoma, leaving behind his wife and three children.

Born Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki became “one” with the family that founded the automaker based in Hamamatsu, Japan. During his long tenure, he forged partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen AG to import vehicles in North America and Europe, and leveraged Suzuki Motor’s expertise in small cars to secure dominant market share in India.

Suzuki guided the company for more than 40 years, retiring in June 2021 at the age of 91.

Under his leadership, Suzuki’s consolidated sales soared from about 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in 1978, the year he became president, to more than 3 trillion yen by fiscal 2006, a tenfold increase.

Born on January 30, 1930 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Suzuki joined the company in 1958 after marrying the granddaughter of the company’s founder.