Toyota Names Chief Competitive Officer

Toyota Motor Corp. has named Didier Leroy to the newly created position of chief competitive officer.

The Frenchman joined Toyota in 1998, was named head of European operations in 2010 and extended that role last March to include North America and Africa.

Leroy also was promoted to executive vice president last year, making him the company’s highest-ranked non-Japanese executive. He is part of a team of senior company executives who are attempting to make Toyota more nimble by reorganizing it into nine business units.