Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has announced the promotion of one of the rising stars in Huntsville’s Mazda Toyota Manufacturing organization.

Mazda’s Alabama Business Unit’s newest Vice President Naoki Okano

Naoki Okano will be stepping into a new role as Vice President of the Alabama Business Unit, effective April 1, 2022. With this advancement, he will assume ultimate responsibility for working with suppliers, handling logistics for the plant, and managing quality assurance.

Prior to his promotion, Okano served as the CX-50 Program Manager, where he was responsible for leading all relevant divisions of the company for the successful development and launch of this all-new vehicle designed specifically for the North American market.

Okano expressed satisfaction with his responsibility for the CX-50’s success as it is built for mass production in Mazda’s new plant.

“It is an honor to take on this new opportunity and responsibility for MTM as we create employment opportunities for the Huntsville community and contribute to the American economy,” he said.

Okano succeeds Masashi Otsuka as lead for the Alabama Business Unit. Osuka will return to Mazda’s corporate office in Hiroshima in a senior leadership role.

“I want to thank Masashi Otsuka for an outstanding job building our new Alabama operation fro the ground up, including developing a stellar Mazda team to support MTM,” MNAO President and CEO Jeff Guyton said. “As Naoki Okano takes the reins, I’m excited to see the continued success of MTM as CX-50 rolls off the Discovery Line and into Mazda dealerships throughout the country.”