Chief Executive Officer
North America Region
President and Chief Operating Officer
Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
Senior Managing Officer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Jim Lentz is chief executive officer, North America Region; president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA); and senior managing officer, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). He assumed these positions on April 1, 2013.
In this role, Lentz oversees all of Toyota’s North American affiliate companies, including TMA, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, Inc. (TEMA), which includes responsibilities for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., and oversight for Toyota Canada, Inc. (TCI). Lentz also is chairman of the North American Executive Committee, which consists of top leaders from the affiliate companies.
Lentz joined Toyota in 1982 as the merchandising manager for its Portland Region, where he later became the distribution manager and field operations manager. He held several positions at TMS headquarters in Torrance, Calif., including field training manager, sales administration manager and truck sales team member. Lentz also served as vice president of marketing services for the Central Atlantic Toyota Region, located in Maryland.
In 1995, Lentz was promoted to general manager for Toyota's San Francisco Region, and later became general manager of the Los Angeles Region. He was promoted to vice president of Scion, responsible for the initial launch of a new line of vehicles designed for the next generation of new-car buyers. Lentz served as group vice president of marketing, Toyota Division, and held the position of general manager of TMS' Toyota Division, where he oversaw all sales logistics and marketing activities for Toyota, Scion and Central Atlantic Toyota Distributors.
Most recently, Lentz was president and chief executive officer of TMS, as well as senior vice president of TMA and served in a global advisory capacity as managing officer for the parent company, TMC, in Japan. Prior to that, Lentz served as chief operating officer of TMS and as executive vice president of TMS.
He is a lead director on the board of directors of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, serves as treasurer 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, his alma mater.
Lentz earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and economics and a Masters in Business Administration – Finance from the University of Denver.