Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc’s group vice president and general manager of Toyota Customer Services, Fletcher V. Davidson will receive the 2012 Executive of the Year Award during the 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards on Jan. 8, 2011, which will be held in the Sound Board theatre at MotorCity Casino Hotel during the North American International Auto Show’s (NAIAS) press preview week. The Urban Wheel Awards is the official multicultural event of the NAIAS.
Davidson will be honored for his proven success in management, specifically for his strategic leadership during the 2010 recalls and the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011.
“I am honored to receive the Executive of the Year award and accept it on behalf of Toyota. None of the strides we made following the recalls or the earthquake and tsunami would have been possible without the tremendous efforts of our team members, dealers and suppliers, who worked tirelessly to help our customers and return production to normal levels,” said Davidson. “This award could not come at a better time as supply is improving for our dealers and customers, and we are preparing to introducing 20 new products over the next few years.”
Following the devastation last spring, Davidson and his global parts logistics team were extremely successful at ensuring that Toyota customers with cars in need of service were minimally impacted as a result of the supply-chain disruptions. Taking all individual situations into consideration, he guaranteed parts supply was prioritized based on specific criteria. The process he used was one that was developed and proven by his team during the recall campaigns of the previous year.
In some cases, Davidson went as far as fast-tracking parts via air freight from Japan and hand-delivering outside of the normal inventory flow. Because of efforts like these, very few of Toyota’s service customers experienced the loss of the use of their automobiles.
In his role at Toyota, Davidson is responsible for service parts, accessories, product quality, dealer operations and customer relations. In this capacity, he leads a team of 2400 associates who support $3.5 billion in sales.
Davidson holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from California State University, Long Beach and a master’s degree in management science from the University of Southern California. Davidson joined Toyota in 1973 as parts planning administrator, and prior to his current position, he was vice president and general manager of Toyota’s North American Parts Organization (NAPO).
About the Urban Wheel Awards
The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards is a world-class awards show, held during the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The only Official Multicultural Event held in conjunction with the NAIAS, the awards promote diversity inclusion in the nation’s largest auto show and brings together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives and the multicultural community to celebrate diversity accomplishment in the automotive industry. The festivities begin at 2:00 p.m. with a vehicle exhibit, followed by a reception at 4:00 p.m. to honor William “Bill” Perkins, the first African-American Chairman of the NAIAS. The celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception follows at 5:30 p.m. and the awards show will take place from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. An afterglow networking reception will conclude the evening. Proceeds from the event support the Emerging Diversity Education Fund, which provides internships, scholarship and mentoring to students pursuing careers in the auto industry, communications, and Green jobs. For more information, please contact Marjorie Staten at events@decisivemag.com or (248) 866-8837 or visit www.urbanwheelawards.com for more information.
Source: Decisive Magazine
