Jim Lentz Honored As Industry Leader Of The Year By The Automotive Hall Of Fame

Jim Lentz, chief executive officer of Toyota NorthAmerica, was recognized as Industry Leader of the Year at the Automotive Hallof Fame’s 75(th) Anniversary Gala on July 24, 2014. The event was held at theA. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, College for Creative Studies inDetroit.

“I am honored to be accepting this distinguishedaward,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive officer of Toyota North America.”I accept it on behalf of my teammates, the more than 40,000 Toyotaassociates in North America who have helped me achieve this dream.”

Also recognized was Ken Gross, writer, curator andhistorian and Frank Venegas, Jr., group chairman and chief executive officer.Both were given the Distinguished Service Citation award. Additionally, fourindustry leaders were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ceremony, includingKeith Crain and J.D. “Dave” Power III.

The Automotive Hall of Fame is constantly expanding itsrole as a primary source of inspiration for those working in the globalautomotive industry. Best known for celebrating the insights and ingenuity ofpeople who have contributed to the auto industry’s success, the Hall of Famehas inducted nearly 300 people since 1939.

Lentz joined Toyota in 1982 as the merchandising managerfor its Portland region, where he later became the distribution manager andfield operations manager. Since then he held several executive positions,including Toyota division group vice president and general manager, where heoversaw all sales, logistics and marketing activities for Toyota and Scionregional sales offices and distributors. He also served as Toyota division group vice president of marketing andvice president of Scion, responsible for the initial launch of a new line ofvehicles designed for the next generation of new-car buyers.

Jim serves as chairman on the board of directors for TheGlobal Automakers and is a member of the executive advisory board for DanielsCollege of Business at the University of Denver (DU), his alma mater.  

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creatorof the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live throughour Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Overthe past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in NorthAmerica, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directlyemploy more than 40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks (more than 2..2 millionin the U.S.) in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold overthe past 20 years are still on the road today. 

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations acrossthe country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share thecompany’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks tohelp community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to dogood. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com