Familiar Face Returns As Mitsubishi's North American Boss

One day, perhaps even one day this year ( …or next!), Mitsubishi will have a new model to show off to Americans, and when that time comes there’ll be a new top boss performing the unveiling.

Fred Diaz is out as CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America, the automaker announced Thursday, replaced by someone who knows the job fairly well. He’s had it before.

Yoichi Yokozawa (on the left in the above photo) was named president and CEO of MMNA in Diaz’s absence, but he’ll have to wait until “travel restrictions are removed” in order to formally occupy the role, Mitsubishi said. In the meantime, Chief Operating Officer Mark Chaffin steps into the interim CEO role, effective immediately.

The automaker did not waste digital ink outlining the nature of Diaz’s departure. The former top boss accepted the role in April of 2018.

For Yokozawa, a 22-year company veteran, it’s something of a homecoming. Yokozawa previously held the position of MMNA CEO from 2011 to 2014. Those were lean times for the automaker in America — after bottoming out during the recession, Mitsu’s U.S. volume remained in the five-figure category until 2016, when it finally crested the 100,000 mark.

The automaker’s annual U.S. tally of 121,046 vehicles sold in 2019 was its best showing since 2007, though a far cry from the 300,000-plus vehicles offloaded each year from 2000 to 2002. Mitsu’s inclusion in the still-rocky Renault-Nissan alliance has afforded the automaker a future, however, via access to the platforms and technology it’ll need to stay competitive in a decade of flux.

“Yoichi is an experienced team player, and his global background and previous North American experience will serve him well as he leads the MMNA organization forward,” said Guillaume Cartier, Mitsubishi Motors’ senior vice president responsible for Global Marketing and Sales.

“We are grateful to Fred for his accomplishments and commitment to Mitsubishi Motors. He steered the company to sales successes in a challenging U.S. market, built a strong leadership team, strengthened the U.S. dealer partner network, and laid the foundation for the future of a successful Mitsubishi Motors in the United States.”

[Image: Mitsubishi Motors]