The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles appoints former Toyota Motor’s executive Gregory Willis as President and CEO.
The Board of Directors of the JACCC announced the appointment on Jan 13.
Mr. Greg Willis dedicated over twenty years with Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. as a senior executive beginning at a time when Toyota was new to the United States.
Mr. Willis was responsible for leading the effort to establish Toyota in Mexico and helped to launch the Lexus brand.
Over the last 12 years, Mr. Willis founded and managed a firm that acquired small international companies and transformed them into profitable business ventures through new business development and cost efficiencies.
“Greg’s leadership and unique experience are especially critical at this pivotal time for the JACCC,” said Board Chair, Sandy Sakamoto. “He is passionate about the arts and has worked in the non-profit sector providing leadership to numerous organizations on a variety of boards.”
Opened in 1980, the JACCC has a rich legacy as the largest Asian American cultural center of its kind in the United States, is a pre-eminent presenter of Japanese and Japanese American performing and visual arts, and is a key anchor institution in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo community.
Today, however, the delivery of arts and culture, the makeup of the community and the demographic composition of the next generation audience are vastly different from 30 years ago.
Over one-third of the Japanese American community is now multi-racial, geographically dispersed, and long-time core supporters are aging.
The future promises more change, along with opportunities to connect with new audiences of downtown residents, multi-ethnic and a younger audience, while maintaining connection to JACCC’s traditional audience.