PLANO, Texas (June 2, 2025) – Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) today announced executive changes designed to drive continued growth, advance its commitment to vehicle electrification and prepare for the future of mobility.
Promotion
Elizabeth “Liz” Gibson, vice president, deputy general counsel, Toyota Legal One (TL1), was promoted to group vice president and general counsel, TL1 effective May 19. Gibson will report to Sandra Phillips, senior vice president, Enterprise Integrity, chief sustainability officer, chief legal officer, TMNA.
Gibson will be responsible for setting legal direction and strategy for TMNA, and the management of TL1, including oversight for the Toyota de Mexico and Toyota Puerto Rico legal teams. She will provide advice and counsel to TMNA business division executive leaders to help enable business objectives, mitigate risk and defend the enterprise.
During her 19-year tenure at Toyota, Gibson has worked across a wide range of automotive industry disciplines and has strategized solutions for complex problems in North America and globally, with a customer first focus and practical approach.
Retirement
Susan Elkington, executive technical advisor, Toyota Global and North American Sustainability, will retire effective August 1, 2025. Prior to her current role, Elkington was senior vice president of Electric Vehicle Supply, responsible for accelerating the company’s electrified transformation, with a focus on battery and electric vehicle production and supply strategy.
Elkington began her career with Toyota in 1998 at TMMI as an assembly engineering specialist, and by 2013, she held the position of manufacturing vice president. Elkington then served as general manager, Production Control Division at TMC supporting Toyota’s 53 manufacturing plants worldwide. In 2018, she was named president of TMMK.
Throughout her career, Elkington has been recognized as a leader in the automotive industry and was included in Automotive News’ 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry (2020), is an inaugural inductee into the Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fame (2020), a STEP Ahead Honoree (2014), and an ATHENA of Southwest Indiana Award Finalist (2013). Elkington also serves on numerous charitable and corporate boards.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 32 electrified options.
Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
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