Toyota Motor North America Announces Executive Changes

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) announced executive changes designed to drive continued growth, advance its commitment to vehicle electrification and prepare for the future of mobility.

Effective January 1, 2026, Mr. Masahiro Seri will succeed Takefumi Shiga as senior vice president and chief production officer, Production Engineering and Manufacturing, reporting to Mark Templin, TMNA chief operating officer.

Takefumi Shiga, the current executive vice president, Production Engineering and Manufacturing, is returning to Japan to assume a new leadership assignment with Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).

During his time at TMNA, Shiga drove major advances in production innovation, operational excellence, and manufacturing efficiency across Toyota’s North American operations, achieving key gains in quality, safety, sustainability, and new product launches.

“We are deeply grateful for Shiga-san’s tremendous contributions,” said Templin. “His leadership advanced innovation and strengthened the flexibility of our production systems—critical to Toyota’s manufacturing future. We wish him continued success in Japan.”

“At the same time, we are excited to have Seri-san step into this key leadership role. His experience, technical expertise, and collaborative approach will help guide our production engineering and manufacturing teams as we continue to innovate and deliver the highest-quality vehicles to our customers,” said Templin.

Shiga joined Toyota in 1992 and has held a variety of key manufacturing and engineering leadership positions. He joined TMNA in his current role in January 2023 and has responsibilities for all aspects of TMNA’s manufacturing and production engineering operations including our 14 vehicle and unit plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He also oversaw the development of Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, a $13.9 billion investment and Toyota’s first battery plant in North America.

Seri joined Toyota in 1993 and most recently served as plant general manager of Toyota’s award-winning Tahara plant, where he oversaw production of a variety of vehicles including the Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, and the Lexus GX, LX, IS and NX.  Prior to this role, he served in a variety of leadership positions at TMC, including general manager roles in global production, body production engineering, and vehicle logistics.  Earlier in his career, Seri completed an assignment at Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile in the Czech Republic. Seri graduated from Keio University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry.