TORRANCE, Calif., July 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Lentz, chief executive officer of Toyota
North America, was recognized as Industry Leader of the Year at the
Automotive Hall of Fame's 75th Anniversary Gala on
July 24, 2014. The event was held at
the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
"I am honored to be accepting this distinguished award," said
Jim Lentz, chief executive officer
of Toyota North America. "I accept it on behalf of my teammates,
the more than 40,000 Toyota associates in North America who have helped me achieve this
dream."
Also recognized was Ken Gross,
writer, curator and historian and Frank
Venegas, Jr., group chairman and chief executive officer.
Both were given the Distinguished Service Citation award.
Additionally, four industry leaders were inducted into the Hall of
Fame at the ceremony, including Keith
Crain and J.D. "Dave" Power III.
The Automotive Hall of Fame is constantly expanding its role as
a primary source of inspiration for those working in the global
automotive industry. Best known for celebrating the insights and
ingenuity of people who have contributed to the auto industry's
success, the Hall of Fame has inducted nearly 300 people since
1939.
Lentz joined Toyota in 1982 as the merchandising manager for its
Portland region, where he later
became the distribution manager and field operations manager. Since
then he held several executive positions, including Toyota division
group vice president and general manager, where he oversaw all
sales, logistics and marketing activities for Toyota and Scion
regional sales offices and distributors. He also served as
Toyota division group vice president of marketing and vice
president of Scion, responsible for the initial launch of a new
line of vehicles designed for the next generation of new-car
buyers.
Jim serves as chairman on the board of directors for The Global
Automakers and is a member of the executive advisory board for
Daniels College of Business at the University
of Denver (DU), his alma mater.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of
the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people
live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the
past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in
North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million
cars and trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2013 – and
about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years
are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety and the
environment. As part of this commitment, we share the
company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and
trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand
their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140724/130297
SOURCE Toyota