Toyota chief becomes SMMT president
Toyota Motor Europe senior vice-president Graham Smith has been named as the next president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Smith, who was managing director of Toyota GB for 10 years until he was handed the new European role earlier this year (MW July 6), succeeds Roger Putnam on January 1. Putnam, a former chairman of Ford of Europe, has been SMMT president since June 2005.
Smith says: "These are important times for the industry and my priority next year will be to ensure that the real progress we have made in productivity, skills and in driving down emissions is fully appreciated by all our stakeholders."
Smith joined Toyota GB as a regional general manager in 1993. He was promoted first to marketing director and then managing director in 1996, before being made senior vice-president for external and environmental affairs for Toyota Motor Europe in July this year.
In 2003, he was invited to chair the newly established Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, an alliance of more than 200 organisations developing initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from road vehicles.
Smith adds of his new SMMT role: "A light regulatory touch will ensure Britain’s largest manufacturing sector continues to thrive and make progress in all areas of sustainable development."
