US – Effective from January 3, 2017, the appointments are part of a move toward regional autonomy and self-reliance, incorporating the ‘One Toyota’ strategy. The location of business affiliates and senior personnel at a single site is aimed at improving decision-making, sharing best practices and maximising human resources.
New presidents with overall responsibility for manufacturing and administrative operations will be: David Fernandes at Huntsville, Alabama; Millie Marshall at Princeton, Indiana; Leah Curry at Buffalo, West Virginia; and Akitoshi Ichino at Tupelo, Mississippi. Susan Elkington will become senior vice-president at Georgetown, Kentucky.
Jim Bolte has been named group vice-president of Manufacturing Efficiency, responsible for cost-effectiveness in production, plus alignment of standards and policies. He will be based at Georgetown.
Norm Bafunno will leave his position as president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana to become group vice-president of the One Toyota Competitiveness project.
Kent Rice has been appointed group vice-president, Corporate Quality, at Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).
Chris Nielsen will take on the role of chief quality officer, North American Quality Task Force, alongside his existing duties as senior vice-president of Product Support.
Kazuaki Shingo will become group vice-president of the Product Development Office at TMNA R&D in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with responsibility for all vehicle development projects in North America. He will retain his current role as executive advisor at the Technical Strategy Planning Office.