Toyota Motor North America announced on May 4 several executive changes aimed at supporting the company’s focus on regulatory excellence, sustainability, and corporate governance.
Sandra Phillips, who serves as senior vice president, Enterprise Integrity, chief legal officer, corporate secretary, and chief sustainability officer, will retire effective July 31. The company said Phillips played a key role in strengthening Toyota’s legal and compliance operations during her tenure.
Tom Stricker, group vice president of Regulatory Affairs and Environmental Sustainability, will also retire effective June 30. According to the announcement, Stricker was instrumental in shaping Toyota’s environmental strategy and building partnerships with stakeholders.
Chris Yang will expand his current responsibilities to include chief legal officer and Enterprise Integrity. Yang will continue serving as deputy chief compliance officer and deputy chief risk officer for Toyota Motor Corporation. In this expanded role he will oversee legal, compliance and audit functions.
Liz Gibson is set to assume the roles of group vice president for Regulatory Affairs and Environmental Sustainability as well as corporate secretary and chief sustainability officer. Gibson will report to Yang while leading U.S.-based corporate sustainability strategy along with overseeing regulatory policy.
Kim Cockrell will take on additional duties related to sustainability, community impact initiatives, corporate security and emergency management in her ongoing position as senior vice president for human resources.
“These leadership changes reflect both our deep bench of talent and our commitment to continuity as we build for the future,” said Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “We are grateful to Sandra and Tom for their many contributions and look forward to the continued impact of Chris, Liz, Kim and the broader team.”
Toyota has been present in the United States for nearly seventy years through its Toyota (NYSE:TM) brand along with Lexus dealerships. The company employs about 48,000 people across eleven manufacturing plants nationwide where more than thirty-five million vehicles have been assembled. In 2025 its plant in North Carolina began assembling automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
