A longtime Toyota executive who ran the automaker’s supply chain management organization will retire later this month, Toyota Motor North America announced.
Randy Pflughaupt, 61, group vice president of supply chain management, will retire Oct. 26 after 38 years with Toyota. He will be succeeded by Keith Robertson, 51, vice president of demand and supply management for Toyota Motor North America, the automaker said. Robertson will report to Chris Nielsen, chief quality officer in North America.
Pflughaupt previously was group vice president of sales administration with Toyota Motor Sales, senior vice president of production control with Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, group vice president of marketing and held several sales region leadership positions. Most recently, Pflughaupt played a vital role in the automaker’s ongoing response to COVID-19.
The impending executive change comes as the automaker continues to struggle to keep up with growing demand for its vehicles in the wake of an extended production shutdown in late March because of the pandemic. Toyota’s supply of pickups and certain hybrids, for example, is running extremely tight, according to data compiled by Cox Automotive.