James E. Press is the former deputy

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Chrysler Group LLC, having served in that capacity from June to December 2009. Previously, he served as president of sales and marketing operations of Chrysler LLC from September 2007 to June 2009. He also served as senior advisor to Chrysler Financial Company. During this assignment, he assisted Sergio Marchionne in the transition to

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

. Press was heavily involved in maintaining company operations and product development during the

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

period. Press was also senior advisor to the Renault–Nissan Alliance, working closely with the CEO,

Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman and former automotive executive. He was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Michelin, Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nissan ...

. Presently he is senior advisor to Hyundai Motor North America, AMCI Doppler in Torrance, California and Work Truck Solutions in Chico California.

Career

After starting his career at Ford, he joined

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

in 1970 and rose steadily in the organization, serving in most key executive positions before being named COO of

Toyota Motor North America Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is the operating subsidiary that oversees all operations of the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Its operations include research and development, manufacturing, sales, market ...

, the consolidating company for all sales, finance, manufacturing, design and engineering activities of one of the largest auto companies in the world. Press served in that role until September 2007. He was also the first non-Japanese member of Toyota's board of directors. Press served as Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor to The McLarty Companies until December 31, 2020; a fourth-generation family transportation business based in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Previously, Press served as a senior executive for three international ventures founded and established by Mark McLarty: Yanjun Auto Group, a leading luxury auto dealership chain in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

; Caltibiano McLarty, a multidealer group based in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

; and GDV Imports, the

Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover, also known as JLR, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and SUVs and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, Unite ...

distributor in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Later, Press was President of RML Automotive, a private,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

-based U.S. automotive dealer group established by Robert L. Johnson, Mack McLarty, Franklin McLarty, and Steve Landers.

Personal life

Press was born in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. After his second marriage ended in divorce, in 2006 he was remarried to Suwichada Busamrong from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Press and his wife live in Hermosa Beach, California, and have six children; Robert Press, Jason Press, Christopher Press, Elizabeth Press, Guy Press, and Nong Press. Press is known to be an avid swimmer. He wears a single string on one wrist as a reminder that material wealth is not the most important thing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Jim Chrysler executives Toyota people Living people American chief executives in the automobile industry American chief operating officers 1946 births