Stephen Brennan

Stephen Brennan is group vice president of vehicle production engineering and the Manufacturing Project Innovation Center (MPIC) for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). In his role, Brennan oversees hundreds of team members responsible for leading new product launches in Toyota’s North American manufacturing facilities.

In his previous role as vice president of production engineering, Brennan was responsible for designing processes and procuring new equipment, including managing all related capital expenditures to facilitate the start of production of new vehicle models across Toyota facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Brennan joined Toyota in 1996 and spent the first six years of his career in plastics engineering before being promoted to assistant manager. He then spent the next 16 years working in the final assembly engineering group, where he was ultimately promoted to general manager.

As Toyota’s U.S. manufacturing presence grew in the late 1990s, Brennan was involved in many of its new ventures, including the design of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI); Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi (TMMMS); Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (TMMTX); Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California (TMMBC); and Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Guanajuato (TMMGT). Brennan spent several years as the general manager of vehicle parts at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), Toyota’s largest manufacturing plant globally. He was also instrumental in launching many new models, including the Highlander and Venza. He played several critical roles in Toyota’s joint venture with Tesla, working on the RAV4 Hybrid.

Brennan serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Kentucky’s College of Engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.