HPD promotes Berkman, names Art St. Cyr

Berkman (L) shakes hands with AJ Foyt above, gets promoted

On April 1, HPD President Erik Berkman, who also served as Vice President of Corporate Planning and Logistics for American Honda, will become president of Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

In his new role, Berkman will be responsible for all North American new-vehicle design and development, including the all-new Acura NSX.

He will succeed Hiroshi Takemura, who will return to Honda Motor in Japan as Deputy Director of Automobile Operations.

Art St. Cyr will succeed Berkman in both of his current roles. St. Cyr comes to HPD from Honda R&D, where he has served most recently as Chief Engineer. St. Cyr is a 1988 graduate of the University of California-Davis, with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Honda upon graduation and, beginning in 1991, spent two years at Honda’s R&D Center in Tochigi, Japan, where he worked on chassis development of the original Acura NSX and the 1991 Acura Legend.

More recently, St. Cyr took responsibility for the complete vehicle performance of Honda R&D Americas’ first SUV development, the 2001 Acura MDX. St. Cyr performed the same duties in the development of Honda’s Element, which debuted in 2003, and the all-new 2011 Honda Odyssey.

An additional personnel move finds David Heath, Senior Manager of Auto Shows and Events, taking over supervision of the American Honda Motorsports Department, effective with the March 1, 2012 retirement of Kurt Antonius, Assistant Vice President of Public Relations.