General Manager, Quality Engineering & Quality Control
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.

Vinodh “Vinnie” Venugopal is General Manager of Quality Engineering/ Quality Control at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Inc. in Georgetown, Kentucky. In this capacity, Mr. Venugopal leads the company’s quality initiatives. His responsibilities include the quality assurance of new model launches, supplied parts, and total vehicle quality of all models manufactured at the plant.

A native of Madras, India, Mr. Venugopal came to the United States in 1979 after working for Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company, which manufactured trucks in collaboration with Daimler-Benz of Germany. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, and a master’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Wayne State University of Detroit.

Prior to joining Toyota in March 1988, Mr. Venugopal was employed by Volkswagen of America as a Quality Engineer and later as a Senior Engineer in the Materials Engineering Design Department. He started his career in the United States in 1979 as a metallurgical engineer at the General Motors Detroit Diesel Allison Plant. Later in 1980, he joined the National Twist Drill Company.

Mr. Venugopal is married and has two children.