President of Toyota Motor Sales to speak at ACU

James Lentz, president and chief operation officer of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., will speak at Abilene Christian University Oct. 20 as part of the College of Business Administration’s Distinguished Speaker Series. The luncheon event is open to the public, and tickets are available at acu.edu/coba-dss.

The event will take place in the Hunter Welcome Center at 11:45 a.m. Tickets are $15 each and include a plated lunch.

"Given the impact of the global recession and its relationship with the worldwide auto industry, it is significant and honoring to have Mr. Lentz visit ACU to share his insight," said Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of the College of Business Administration.

Lentz has overall responsibility for sales, marketing and distribution for Toyota, Scion and Lexus products in the United States. Lentz joined Toyota in 1982 as the merchandising manager for its Portland Region, where he later became the distribution manager and field operations manager. He held several positions at TMS headquarters in Torrance, Calif., including field training manager, sales administration manager, and truck sales team member. Lentz also served as vice president and assistant general manager for Central Atlantic Toyota, a Maryland-based private distributorship.

In 1995, Lentz was promoted to general manager for Toyota's San Francisco Region, and he later became vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Region (2000). As vice president of Scion (2001), Lentz was responsible for the initial launch of a new line of vehicles for the next generation of new-car buyers. Lentz also served as group vice president of marketing (2003), Toyota Division. He also held the position of general manager of TMS' Toyota Division (2005), where he oversaw all sales logistics and marketing activities for Toyota, Scion and Central Atlantic Toyota Distributors. Most recently, Lentz served as executive vice president of TMS (2006).

Lentz attended the University of Denver where he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and economics and a Masters in Business Administration – Finance.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is designed to bring national leaders of integrity to Abilene to share their keys to success and how they have integrated faith and Biblical principles at work.

About ACU 
ACU is a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world. ACU was named one of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News and World Report in its 2010 edition and was recently ranked in the top seven percent of universities nationwide in Forbes magazine’s America’s Best Colleges rankings.

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