Executives Promoted at Toyota's Indiana Operation

PRINCETON, Ind. December 18, 2005; The AP reported that two executives at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana have been promoted, and a third executive is joining the company from a Toyota plant in Japan. Seizo Okamoto, TMMI's president and chief executive officer, will become the company's chairman Jan. 1. Shuichi "Shaun" Koyama, who was project general manager of Toyota's Takaoka plant in Japan, will become TMMI's president and chief executive officer. Vice president Norm Bafunno will be promoted to senior vice president. "These two executives bring invaluable experience to lead us successfully in the coming years," Okamoto said in a statement issued Friday. TMMI, which began production in 1998, makes the Tundra pickup truck, the Sequoia sport utility vehicle and the Sienna minivan.