DENSO Announces Updates to North American Organization, Leader Responsibilities

Changes position the supplier to continue to advance greener, safer mobility

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DENSO, a leading mobility supplier, today announced updates to its organizational structure and leader responsibilities in North America.

The changes, which took effect Jan. 1, are part of DENSO's ongoing efforts to better align its business units, enhance cross-functional collaboration and accelerate innovation so the company can remain at the forefront of greener and safer mobility.

North America Executive Board Updates
DENSO has welcomed two new members to its North America Executive Board:

• Marty Deschenes
  • In addition to joining the board, Deschenes has been named a senior director in DENSO Corporation, an executive vice president of DENSO in North America and the North America chief manufacturing officer.
• Satoshi "Sammy" Hasegawa
  • In addition to his new board role, Hasegawa has also been named a senior director of DENSO Corporation and executive vice president of DENSO in North America. He will continue to serve as head of North America Sales and Marketing and provide leadership to the New Business Development group.

Stephen Milam, senior director of DENSO Corporation, executive vice president of DENSO in North America, and executive board member will take on additional responsibility as North America chief strategy officer.

Additional North America executive board members include Tomoyuki "Tom" Arakawa, who is an executive officer of DENSO Corporation and CEO of DENSO's North American operations, and Shinichi Nakamizo, who has transitioned from chief manufacturing officer in North America to an executive advisor role to support Deschenes' transition.

North America Business Group Structure Updates
To strengthen and speed the development of solutions in key business areas, DENSO has appointed the following leaders to newly created roles.

Green Business Group

• Electrification: Sergio Pujols
  • Pujols has been named business unit vice president, responsible for the Electric Power Conversion Business Unit and Electric Power Source Business Unit.
• Thermal: Jason Hendry
  • Hendry has been named business unit vice president responsible for Air Conditioning, Thermal Component and Thermal Management Business Units.
• Powertrain: Dan Ronayne and Vicente Rodriguez
  • Ronayne has been named business unit lead for the Engine Components Business in the U.S. and Injection Component Business Units.
  • Rodriguez has been named business unit lead for Engine Components Business in Mexico.
• Electric Components: Alfonso Trevino
  • Trevino has been named business unit lead for Electric Components.

Peace of Mind Business Group

• Electronics: Kenichi Takagi
  • Takagi has been named business unit lead for the Electronics Business Unit, replacing Kazunari Nakamura, who has become executive coordinator of Electronics Engineering.

North America Manufacturing Structure Updates
DENSO has appointed the following leaders to new roles to reinforce and build upon the company's deep expertise in advanced manufacturing.

• Dave Grimmer
  • Grimmer has transitioned from his post as lead of the North America Production Innovation Center to become president of DENSO's manufacturing facility in Athens, Tennessee, and leader of North America South Sub-Region Manufacturing, replacing Deschenes, now the North America chief manufacturing officer.
• Hirotoshi Hayase
  • Hayase has transferred from DENSO Corporation to serve as lead of the North America Production Innovation Center.
• Britt Autry
  • Autry has been named vice president of a newly created function, Manufacturing Quality Engineering, created to optimize consistency and reliability in DENSO manufacturing processes.

To complement the South Sub Region (SSR), a group of DENSO manufacturing sites in the southeast U.S. that collaborate closely for greater efficiency, DENSO has created the North Sub Region (NSR) for similar operational benefits. The NSR consists of DENSO manufacturing locations in the northern U.S. and Canada, and is led by Shuichi Kamakura, who is also president of DENSO's thermal manufacturing facility in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Additional Executive Updates
The following individuals have been elevated to executive roles.

For more information about organizational and leader changes at DENSO's global headquarters in Japan, go here.

About DENSO
Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO is a $47.2 billion leading mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in around 180 facilities worldwide to provide opportunities for rewarding careers and to produce cutting-edge electrification, powertrain, thermal and mobility electronics products, among others, that change how the world moves. In developing such solutions, the company's 162,000 global employees are paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents, and preserves the environment. DENSO spent around 7.7 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. For more information about DENSO's operations worldwide, visit www.denso.com/global. 

In North America, DENSO is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, and employs 27,000+ engineers, researchers, and skilled workers across nearly 50 sites in the U.S, Canada and Mexico. In the United States alone, DENSO employs 17,500+ employees across 14 states (and the District of Columbia) at 41 sites. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, DENSO in North America generated $11.7 billion in consolidated sales. DENSO is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion inside the company and beyond – a principle that brings together unique perspectives, bolsters innovation and pushes DENSO forward. To learn more about DENSO operations in the region and to review current career opportunities, please visit www.denso.com/us-ca/en/.

SOURCE DENSO