Yoichi Yokozawa Named CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America
Photo: Mitsubishi Motors
On March 26, Mitsubishi Motors North America announced that Yoichi Yokozawa would be taking on the role of president and chief executive officer. Yokozawa is replacing Fred Diaz, who was appointed to the role in April 2018.
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Details on Yokozawa’s appointment
Although Yoichi Yokozawa has already been named the new president and CEO, he won’t assume his role formally until there are no more travel restrictions to the U.S. While the coronavirus pandemic prevents him from making his way to the states, Mark Chaffin, the current MMNA chief operating officer, has taken on the role of acting CEO.
Yokozawa first began working at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation back in August 1998. Since then, he has been promoted to numerous senior-level positions, including ones in MMC’s financial, Nissan-MMC Alliance, global marketing, strategic planning, and sales organizations.
He initially held the position of president and CEO of MMNA between April 2011 and February 2014. Now, 55-year-old Yokozawa has even more experience from working in North America and plenty of knowledge to lead the MMNA organization. He is taking on the role after Fred Diaz, who was instrumental in helping the company grow.
Guillaume Cartier, MMC senior vice president responsible for Global Marketing and Sales, said, “We are grateful to Fred for his accomplishments and commitment to Mitsubishi Motors. He steered the company to sales successes in a challenging U.S. market, built a strong leadership team, strengthened the U.S. dealer partner network, and laid the foundation for the future of a successful Mitsubishi Motors in the United States.”
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MMNA currently has roughly 350 dealer partners in the U.S. In 2019, the brand had sales growth for its seventh year in a row. The brand plans to continue offering efficient and affordable vehicles, while also developing new electric vehicles under Yokozawa’s leadership.
Amanda Drago lives in West Chester, Ohio with her wonderful family, which includes her adorable dog, Coco. Amanda recently graduated from Miami University with degrees in both marketing and creative writing. However, if she was ever forced to change career paths, she imagines that she would train dogs for movies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and watching Netflix. She also has a special place in her heart for theatre and purchases tickets to as many shows as she can. See more articles by Amanda.