Former VW, Nissan exec Shahani leads Lexus marketing

With the promotion this week of Lisa Materazzo to group vice president for marketing at Toyota Motor North America, 2015 Automotive News Rising Star Vinay Shahani has taken over Materazzo’s previous position as head of marketing for Lexus.

Shahani, 46, who previously was vice president of integrated marketing operations at the company, joined Toyota in 2017 from Volkswagen of America, where he was senior vice president and chief marketing officer. He also previously worked for Nissan North America.

In the Lexus role, Shahani leads marketing for the luxury brand, including strategy, communications and media, product marketing, incentives and motorsports.

Shahani was named a Rising Star while with Volkswagen.

In December, Materazzo was named group vice president for marketing at Toyota Motor North America, effective Jan. 4, succeeding longtime executive Ed Laukes, who retired.