Toyota Further Strengthens Its European Organisation

Toyota Motor Europe Marketing & Engineering (TMME) has appointed two European executives to top positions to strengthen its operations in the region. Thierry Dombreval will join the company as Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, and will be responsible for Lexus and Toyota sales and marketing activities, as well as for Sales Planning, Product Research and Pricing. John Howett, currently Vice President Sales & Marketing at TMME, is to become Vice President in charge of all after-sales activities of the company in Europe. In their new positions, Thierry Dombreval and John Howett will be reporting to Dr. Takis Athanasopoulos, Executive Vice President and COO of TMME. Both appointments will be effective January 1, 2002.

On the appointment of Thierry Dombreval, Dr. Takis Athanasopoulos stated: “We are extremely pleased that a man of such a calibre is coming to further strengthen our organisation to head Sales & Marketing operations, Sales Planning, Product Research and Pricing, areas in which he has a proven track record of success. The list of his accomplishments is impressive and he enjoys a strong reputation in the industry.

“The product knowledge and profound understanding of the different European markets that he gained during his 28 year long career in the automotive industry, will be of great value to Toyota. I feel confident that Thierry’s strategic insight and his extensive international experience in the areas of sales and marketing will significantly contribute to Toyota’s further growth in Europe.”

Dr. Athanasopoulos continued: “The company considers the further strengthening of after-sales activities a strategic priority, and an integral part of its European growth and profit strategy. Because of the changing business environment and the resulting increase of competition in the after-sales market, Toyota is developing a new strategic after-sales approach based on strengthened customer relations and increased presence in the total value chain. John’s broad experience in engineering, after-sales and marketing will prove an invaluable asset in this process.

Mr. Akira Imai, President and CEO of TMME, commented: “As TMME’s activities are expanding continuously, we need to adapt our organisation and further strengthen our existing European management team. The appointments of Thierry Dombreval and John Howett perfectly fit into this approach.”

Thierry Dobreval (54)

Graduated from the E.S.C. business school in Brest. He started his career at Ford France in 1973 where he held various positions in the Sales area. In 1985, he was appointed Director of the LCV Marketing Department at Ford Europe. In 1987 he became General Manager, Sales, Marketing and After-Sales, at Ford France. He joined Renault Italy in 1989 as General Manager. After having been Sales Director, International Operations Department as from 1994, and International Operations Development Director as from 1996. Thierry Dombreval became Vice President of Marketing for Renault in 1997. In 1999, he was named head of Strategy and Marketing, and in January 2000, he became a member of the Renault Management Committee. Thierry Dombreval is French, married and father of 5 children.

John Howett (48)

Has an engineering background. He started his career at Toyota in 1975 in the after sales department of Toyota Great-Britain (TGB). In 1978 he joined Toyota Team Europe (TTE, Toyota’s motor sports arm) in Belgium and later in Germany as team co-ordinator and workshop manager. In 1981 he returned to TGB where he held management positions in different after sales disciplines such as service, parts and customer relations. When in 1991 Toyota’s European Headquarters became operational, John Howett was given the responsibility to set up the TMME after sales department. In 1997 he was named Director of Marketing, putting him in charge of all marketing activities for the Toyota brand in Europe. As from March 2000, he also became responsible for the Lexus brand. In January 2001 he became Vice President Sales & Marketing. John Howett is British, married and father of two daughters.

ENDS

Note to Editors: Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering (TMME) was established in October 1990 and is the umbrella organisation handling wholesale marketing and engineering of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories. This organisation has its head office in Brussels, Belgium, and currently employs approximately 1,100 people of more than 20 different nationalities.