Brett Wood

Chairman, Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc.

Brett Wood is chairman of Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU), supplier of the number one selling lift truck brand in the U.S. since 2002. He also is executive vice president of Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA), a company comprised of Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc. (TIEM); TMHU; and The Raymond Corporation, a leading provider of electric lift trucks in North America. Wood also serves as a board member for TIEM, Toyota’s zero-landfill forklift manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ind.

With more than 40 years of established operations in North America, TMHU offers a full line of high-quality electric- and engine-powered lift trucks sold under the Toyota brand. In addition to lift trucks, TMHU offers hand pallet trucks, tow tractors, automatic guided vehicles and is the sole U.S. distributor for Aichi. Under the Aichi brand, TMHU offers a line-up of aerial work platforms, including scissor lifts, and crawler and wheeled boom lifts, designed specifically to meet a wide range of indoor and outdoor needs.

A TMHU associate since 1989, Wood formerly served as the company’s president. Before becoming president, he held the position of vice president of marketing, product, strategic planning and training operations, and previously oversaw dealer development. Wood has been influential in identifying the trends and requirements of the material handling industry and developing Toyota products and corporate strategies that meet North American lift truck users’ needs.

Prior to joining Toyota, Wood held engineering positions with IBM Corp. and Northrop Aerospace, where he earned the prestigious recognition of "Engineer of the Year."

Wood is a member of the Material Handling Industry of America Roundtable of Industry Leaders and the Industrial Truck Association’s (ITA) Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Previously, Wood served as the ITA’s chairman of the General Engineering Committee.

Wood contributes to both Modern Materials Handling magazine’s editorial advisory board and the Electric Power Research Institute’s Industry Advisory Council. In addition, he sits on the advisory board for SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., the national nonprofit solely dedicated to child passenger safety.

Wood has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He also is president, and a member of the board, of the Coast Soccer League; and vice president, and a member of the board, of the California State Soccer Association. He and his wife, Jamie, reside in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with their daughter, Madison.