New Toyota NZ chief executive takes the wheel

Monday, 29 June 2020

Neeraj Lala is taking Toytoa's top job after working his way up through the ranks over 22 years.

A new chief executive is taking the wheel at Toyota New Zealand.

Toyota's chief operations officer Neeraj Lala will sit at the head of the boardroom table in the company's Palmerston North headquarters when he takes over from retiring chief executive Alistair Davis on Wednesday.

Lala will be Toyota's fifth chief executive since it was established more than 50 years ago. And like most of his predecessors, Lala has been promoted from within the company.

The new chief executive said he was excited to take the helm and he'd learnt a lot working directly under Davis over the past decade.

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'Alistair's focus on people, culture and sustainability is well embedded in the company and in the leadership team,' Lala said.

“I intend to carry on with that core focus, while advocating for an even better use of data and digital assets to get closer to our customers in these challenging and competitive times.”

Lala joined Toyota as an internet development co-ordinator in 1998 and over the years he has worked in most of the company's departments, from marketing to product planning.

He did a three-year stint with Toyota motor sales in the United States, starting in 2015, as part of an executive leadership programme.

Davis said he was leaving the company in good hands with Lala.

'In Neeraj, Toyota has a well-prepared leader to take the company forward in the post-Covid 19 economy.

“He is an advocate for new ideas when it comes to how auto makers market and sell their products in the 21st century.”