Hyundai’s Krafcik Named "Executive Of The Year"

John Krafcik, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Motor America, has been named "Automotive Executive of The Year" for 2013. The award for the one-time Ford Motor Co. engineer comes as the Korean carmaker sees a modest – but anticipated — slowdown after several years of record sales growth.

Hyundai has earned a variety of honors since Krafcik joined the maker in 2004, including twin victories in the North American Car of the Year awards. He was also credited with coining the term "Lean Manufacturing" while participating in the International Motor Vehicle Program at MIT where he earned his Masters of Science degree at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

The 51-year-old executive started his automotive career in 1984 as the first American engineer on the GM/Toyota joint venture known as NUMMI. He joined Ford in 1990 where he rose to a senior engineering position before being recruited by Hyundai as Vice President of Product Development and Strategic Planning. He was promoted to President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America in 2008, and has now had the longest tenure of any U.S. executive in that post since the Korean maker came to the States.

Under Krafcik, Hyundai has posted a series of annual sales records, though the momentum has slowed in recent months, in part, due to capacity constraints – as well as increased competition from the resurgent Japanese.