Jim Griffith, Executive Consultant

As the former Vice President of Toyota Technical Center North America, Jim knows Toyota's methods of developing and launching top quality new models in half the lead-time and at 60% of the cost of industry competitors. His extensive experience in organization planning and organization design for maximum company performance is a real asset for improving your product development and launch capabilities.

Jim recently retired from Toyota Technical Center, USA (TTC) after 15 years of service, and serves as Lean Consulting Associates senior expert in Lean product development and production launch. At TTC he held the dual positions of Vice President of the Research and Materials Engineering Division and Vice President of the Administration and Legal Divisions for Toyota Technical Center, USA, Inc. (TTC). As Vice President over Research and Materials Engineering, Mr. Griffith held a wide variety of responsibilities, including the oversight of materials evaluation and development in accordance with Toyota specifications of prototype parts and materials destined for use in North American-produced vehicles.

Mr. Griffith also directed advanced material research focusing on establishing collaborations with leading universities and national laboratories on leading edge technologies such as advanced fuel cells and batteries. In his position as Vice President of Administration and Legal, Mr. Griffith was responsible for directing all administrative, human resources and legal activities. Earlier, Mr. Griffith served as Vice President of Technical Planning Division, responsible for Development Planning and Operations, Technical Management and Public Affairs providing coordination and centralized communication regarding TTC's vehicle development projects.