President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.
Toyota
Wil James is president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc., Toyota’s largest automotive manufacturing plant in North America. James started at Toyota in 1987 as an assembly group leader. Throughout his career, he has served in multiple leadership roles including senior vice president of Toyota’s Indiana plant, president of the Long Beach, California subsidiary, and vice president of manufacturing at Toyota Kentucky. Additionally, James has lead diversity and inclusion efforts for all of Toyota’s manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He currently champions quality initiatives for Toyota’s fourteen North American plants.
James serves as the Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, as well as a board member for the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement. He is also active in the Executive Leadership Council and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. James is a past board member of North Carolina A & T School of Engineering, Kentucky State University and the National Society of Black Engineers.
James received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology and an Associate’s Degree in Applied Sciences from Old Dominion University. In 2013, James received an honorary doctorate of engineering from the University of Kentucky.
