Toyota Australia gets a new chief marketing officer

Toyota has appointed 20-year company veteran, Vin Naidoo, as its new chief marketing officer in Australia.

Naidoo is replacing John Pappas, who was promoted to CEO of Lexus Australia earlier this month following 18 months in the local marketing chief post. Naidoo, another long-term employee of the automotive group, has spent the last two years in Singapore, where he was general manager of sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region.

Naidoo initially joined Toyota in 2002 after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Melbourne University. Since then, he’s held a variety of roles, from after sales to product planning, national fleet, sales and NSW regional operations management.

Credit: Toyota

He earned his initial marketing stripes as head of marketing for Lexus Australia between 2013 and his relocation to Singapore in early 2020.

According to Naidoo, it’s a pivotal time to return to Toyota Australia, which he noted has celebrated its 25th year as the country’s best-selling automotive brand.

“My focus – and that of my team – will be to articulate Toyota's compelling vision as a mobility company, connecting everyone with the freedom to move and be moved,” he said in a statement. “This will require even deeper collaboration across all parts of our business as we navigate the once-in-a-century transformations occurring simultaneously in connectivity, autonomy, sharing and electrification.

“We will communicate the unique benefits to customers of Toyota's industry-leading vehicles and services. We will also build on our success by accelerating innovation in the spirit of continuous improvement, which is a cornerstone of our company culture.”

Former local CMO, Pappas was promoted to CEO of Lexus Australia in January. He’s another Toyota veteran as well as mechanical engineer who worked his way up from sales, engineering, logistics and supply chain management to regional general manager, national sales then marketing. During this time, Pappas also spent two years at the company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

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