Toyota Announces Executive Changes Across North and South America

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Mar 06, 2013, 02:35 ET

NEW YORK, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA) today announced executive changes across Toyota's North and South American affiliate companies, which are effective as of April 1.

These executive appointments are intended to give greater autonomy and more local control to regional executives and managers so they can provide superior customer-focused products and services. The moves also advance Toyota's efforts to integrate top regional talent into its global leadership team in order to best meet the needs of customers around the world.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), said of the announcement: "These changes will help us to achieve sustainable growth and realize our Global Vision by giving more responsibility to each region, including our North and South American operations, so that they may develop and deliver ever better products and offer the best service to our customers."

The changes announced today include:

James (Jim) Lentz, currently president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America (TMA) and managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), is named senior managing officer of TMC, chief executive officer North America Region, and president and chief operating officer of TMA. In this new role, Mr. Lentz will oversee all of Toyota's North America affiliates, including TMS, TMA and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, Inc. (TEMA), which includes responsibilities for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC), and will have new oversight for Toyota Canada, Incorporated (TCI). Mr. Lentz will also become chairman of the North American Executive Committee, which will consist of cross-affiliate leaders. He will report to Satoshi Ozawa and Mitsuhisa Kato, executive vice presidents and members of the Board, TMC.

Kazuo Ohara, managing officer, TMC and executive vice president, Lexus International, will become chief executive officer and president of TMS, with responsibility for Toyota's North America sales, service and marketing operations, reporting to Mr. Lentz.

Osamu ("Simon") Nagata, deputy chief officer, External Affairs group, and managing officer, TMC, is named chief executive officer and president of TEMA, where he will lead Toyota's North American manufacturing and engineering operations, also reporting to Mr. Lentz.

Steve St. Angelo, having served Toyota North America as executive vice president, TEMA, and senior vice president of TMA, is named chief executive officer, Latin America and Caribbean Region. He remains a managing officer of TMC. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mr. St. Angelo will be chairman of Toyota do Brazil and will oversee all of Toyota's Latin America and Caribbean affiliates. He will report to Mitsuhisa Kato and Yasumori Ihara, executive vice presidents and members of the board, TMC.

Mark S. Templin, group vice president and general manager – Lexus Division, TMS, and general manager, Lexus Product Marketing Planning Division, TMC, is named managing officer and executive vice president of Lexus International, where he will lead Lexus global operations from Toyota City, Japan. With this appointment, Mr. Templin becomes the first non-Japanese executive to oversee a Toyota division within the company's global headquarters in Japan. In this new role, he will report to Kiyotaka Ise, senior managing officer and president of Lexus International.

Real ("Ray") Tanguay, chairman, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC), North American chief quality officer and senior managing officer of TMC, will be named advisor, TMC and chairman, TCI. He remains chairman of TMMC and president of Canadian Autoparts Toyota, Inc. (CAPTIN), which are overseen by TEMA. Given Mr. Tanguay's enhanced focus on growing the Canadian market and overall coordination of Canadian operations, the role of chief quality officer will be re-assigned at a later date.

Robert (Bob) S. Carter, senior vice president – automotive operations, TMS, will have added responsibility for the Lexus Division, aligning sales, service, marketing, customer initiatives, vehicle distribution and parts operations for Toyota, Lexus and Scion under one executive. He will report to Mr. Ohara.

Jeffrey (Jeff) Bracken, vice president, sales, Toyota Division, is named group vice president and general manager – Lexus Division, TMS, reporting to Mr. Carter. Mr. Bracken will be responsible for all sales, marketing, customer service and dealer operations for Lexus in the U.S.

Yoshimi (Yoshi) Inaba, chairman of TMS, is named executive chairman of TMS. He remains executive advisor to TMC.

Mark Hogan, president of Dewey Investments LLC, is appointed as one of three new outside board members of TMC. Mr. Hogan is the first American to be named as an outside board member of the company.

Shigeki Terashi, managing officer, TMC, president and COO, TMA and president and CEO, TEMA, is named senior managing officer, TMC, where he will be chief officer, Corporate Planning Division and chief officer, Product and Business Planning Division.

Kazuhiro Miyauchi, managing officer, TMC, senior vice president, TMA, and executive vice president – Purchasing and Supplier Engineering Development, TEMA, will become chief officer, Production Control Group, TMC.

Hiroyuki Fukui, senior vice president and chief coordinating officer, TMS, is named managing officer, TMC, and named chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN).

Commenting on the announcement, Jim Lentz said: "Integrating Toyota's North America affiliates under a more unified and streamlined management structure will significantly enhance local responsibility over operations, clarify decision-making and strengthen our 'customer-first' focus. Backed by decades of industry experience, this leadership team represents a deep bench of talent that is well prepared to capitalize fully on the strong momentum across our North and South America operations as we enter a new phase of growth."

Mr. Lentz continued, "We have drawn from a strong and seasoned cadre of global business leaders with these appointments. This new leadership team leverages a unique combination of strategic vision, break-through innovation, executional discipline and an unwavering focus on the customer."

Commenting on his new role as chief executive officer, Latin America and Caribbean Region, Steve St. Angelo said, "This is an exciting opportunity to build on Toyota's continued success in an important emerging market. As we work to serve our customers in the region, I look forward to contributing my manufacturing and business experience to all of the significant accomplishments our colleagues across Latin America have achieved over the past few years."

Details on TMC's global announcement can be found at http://www.toyota-global.com/news. A live webcast in English of TMC's press conference, featuring Akio Toyoda and other Toyota executives, beginning at 2:30 AM ET, can be viewed at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/toyota-en. A recorded version will be available at the same URL following the press conference.

Biographies of key executives follow.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently operates 14 manufacturing plants, including one under construction. There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sold 2.3 million vehicles in 2012. Toyota directly employs more than 37,000 in North America and its investment here is currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totals nearly $25 billion.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com

Executive Biographies

James Lentz: Prior to his new duties, Lentz was president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. as well as a member of the company's board of directors. He also was senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA), the holding company for Toyota's North American sales, engineering and manufacturing operating units. Additionally, Mr. Lentz served in a global advisory capacity as managing officer for the parent company Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in Japan. In these roles, Mr. Lentz was responsible for all North American sales, marketing, product planning, corporate planning and corporate affairs as well as distribution for Toyota, Scion and Lexus products in the United States. Lentz joined Toyota in 1982 and has held various positions in the Portland, Central Atlantic, San Francisco and Los Angeles sales regions, including general manager of the San Francisco and Los Angeles regions. His experience at TMS headquarters in Torrance, Calif., includes field training, sales administration and truck sales, vice president of marketing services for the Central Atlantic Toyota Region, vice president of Scion, responsible for the initial launch of a new line of vehicles for the next generation of new-car buyers. Mr. Lentz has also served as group vice president of marketing, Toyota Division, Central Atlantic Toyota Distributors, chief operating officer and executive vice president of TMS. He is immediate past chairman and member of the board of the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers.

Kazuo Ohara: Mr. Ohara joined TMC in April 1980 after receiving his bachelor's degree in law from Osaka University. In 2003 he was transferred to TMS in the U.S., where he served as senior vice president. In 2008, he was promoted to general manager, Lexus Product and Marketing Planning Division at TMC. Mr. Ohara was named managing officer of TMC in June 2010, and in April of the following year he became deputy chief officer of Lexus Group. He was named executive vice president of Lexus International in June 2012.

Osamu Nagata: Mr. Nagata also joined TMC in April 1980 after earning his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Tokyo. In 2000, he was transferred to Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc., the predecessor of TEMA, where he served as vice president in charge of purchasing. In 2007, he was named general manager of the administrative division of Toyota's Miyoshi manufacturing plant. In 2009, he became a managing officer at TMC and also served as the plant manager for the Miyoshi and Tahara manufacturing facilities. In April 2011, he was named deputy chief officer of TMC's External Affairs Group.

Steve St. Angelo: In 1995, St. Angelo joined New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), the former independent joint venture between GM and Toyota in California, where he held the position of senior advisor and eventually was named vice president in September 2001. He joined Toyota as executive vice president of manufacturing at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc., the company's largest facility outside Japan, on April 1, 2005. In June 2006, he was named president. In June 2007, St. Angelo was named the senior vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, Inc., (TEMA), headquarters to Toyota's engineering and manufacturing operations in North America. In June 2009, he was promoted to managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, named executive vice president of TEMA and senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America. In March 2010, St. Angelo was named the chief quality officer for North America. In April 2012, St. Angelo's responsibilities for Toyota North America expanded to include all Manufacturing, Production Engineering, Production Control and Logistics Control.

Robert Carter: As senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Carter was responsible for the Toyota Division, sales administration, Toyota Logistics Services, Toyota Motor Sales de Mexico and Toyota de Puerto Rico. Prior to that, he was group vice president and general manager of Toyota Division at TMS, where he was responsible for leading all sales, logistics and marketing activities for Toyota and Scion regional sales offices and distributors. Carter previously served as group vice president and general manager of Lexus, where he oversaw all aspects of Lexus automotive operations, including sales and marketing, retail development, customer satisfaction and product planning. Since joining TMS in 1981 as a warranty processor, Carter has held a number of other positions, including general manager of Toyota's Denver regional sales office, Lexus Eastern Area manager, vice president of sales for the Toyota Division and vice president of sales and dealer development for the Lexus Division. He was also the general manager and part owner of Hyannis Toyota in Hyannis, Mass.

Mark Templin: Prior to his current appointment, Mark Templin was group vice president and general manager – Lexus Division, TMS, and general manager, Lexus Product Marketing Planning Division, TMC. Prior to his assignments with Lexus, Templin served as vice president of Scion, Toyota's brand for the next generation of car buyers, responsible for all Scion activities. Since joining TMS in 1990, Templin has held a number of positions, including Lexus Southern Area manager, and assistant area manager for both the Southern and Western Area Lexus offices. He also served as sales administration manager and retail operations manager at Lexus' national headquarters in Torrance, Calif., as vice president of parts, service, customer satisfaction and training for the Lexus Division and vice president of Lexus marketing.

Real (Ray) Tanguay: Mr. Tanguay joined Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC), in 1991, as a general manager in charge of General Affairs, Information Systems and Environmental Affairs. He became vice president in 1993, senior vice president in 2000, and president in 2002, and finally, chairman of TMMC in 2010. In June 2005, Tanguay also became a managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in Japan and in April of 2011, he was promoted to senior managing officer of TMC. Also in April 2011, he took on additional responsibilities as senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA).

Mark Hogan: A veteran automotive industry leader, Mr. Hogan is president of Dewey Investments LLC, a consultancy to automotive-related entities. He is also a member of the Toyota North American Advisory Committee and Toyota's International Advisory Board. Previously, he served as a member of the Visteon Corporation Board of Directors. Prior to this, he was a director and the president and CEO of The Vehicle Production Group LLC, a designer and marketer of automobiles that serve mobility-impaired individuals. From 2004 through 2007 he served as president of Magna International Inc., one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive components, systems and modules. Mr. Hogan also spent 31 years at General Motors, where he notably served as general manager and comptroller at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), GM's former independent joint venture with Toyota in California. He also served as president and managing director of GM do Brazil and group vice president of GM.

Jeffrey Bracken: Prior to his new appointment, Mr. Bracken was vice president, sales, Toyota Division and was responsible for sales support for Toyota's regional offices, public companies and private distributors. Since joining Toyota in 1978, Bracken has served in a number of managerial positions at TMS headquarters, region sales offices and port facilities. In addition to serving as general manager, Portland Region and assistant general manager, Denver Region, Bracken held various positions in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regional offices. He also served as general manager, Lexus Western Area, the luxury division of Toyota Motor Sales and as general manager, Los Angeles Region for the Toyota Division.

Yoshimi Inaba: Previously chairman of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., and an executive advisor of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Mr. Inaba joined TMC in 1968, immediately after graduating from Japan's Kyoto University. His first overseas assignment was in 1985 at Toyota's German sales company. After returning to TMC in Japan, he spent five years at the Europe Division. He then moved to TMS in 1993, becoming senior vice president in 1996, responsible for sales and marketing for the Toyota and Lexus Divisions. Mr. Inaba returned to Japan in 1997 and was named to TMC's Board of Directors where he oversaw European and African operations. In 1999, Mr. Inaba moved back to the U.S. to become president of TMS, and in June 2003, he was made a senior managing director at TMC. In June 2005, he became an executive vice president, focusing on Toyota's Chinese operations. In June 2007, he was appointed president and chief executive officer of Central Japan International Airport Co., Ltd., and a senior advisor to the board of TMC. In June 2009, Mr. Inaba returned to TMC in his current capacity.