# Zack Hicks

> Zack Hicks is a public-company director and technology executive who served as founding president and CEO of Toyota Connected North America and as Toyota Motor North America’s first chief digital officer. After 26 years at Toyota, he became Kimberly-Clark’s chief digital and technology officer in 2022, leaving in March 2026. He is an independent director at Signet Jewelers and chairs its Technology Committee.

- **Role:** Independent Director and Technology Committee Chair at Signet Jewelers
- **Organizations:** Signet Jewelers, Toyota Connected North America (former), Toyota Motor North America (former), Kimberly-Clark (former), United Airlines (former)
- **From:** Melvindale, United States
- **Education:** BS, Business Management, Pepperdine University, Executive MBA, University of California, Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business
- **Known for:** Led Toyota Connected from its 2016 launch as a vehicle-data and mobility business., Served as Toyota Motor North America’s first chief digital officer., Inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame in 2019.

## Career timeline

- **Before 1996** — Spent ten years at United Airlines, including work on retail automation and online reservations.
- **1996** — Joined Toyota in its travel department.
- **2003** — Completed Executive MBA at UC Irvine.
- **2012** — Profiled as Group Vice President and North American CIO at Toyota.
- **2016** — Became founding president and CEO of Toyota Connected; Toyota announced the company on April 4.
- **2018** — Became Toyota Motor North America’s first chief digital officer, leading Digital Transformation & Mobility effective April 2.
- **2018** — Joined Signet Jewelers’ board as an independent director effective October 26.
- **2019** — Inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame.
- **2022** — Left Toyota after 26 years; Steve Basra succeeded him at Toyota Connected. Joined Kimberly-Clark as chief digital and technology officer effective July 26.
- **2026** — Kimberly-Clark departure effective March 31; current personal website identifies independent directorship and Technology Committee chairmanship at Signet.

## Achievements

- Led Toyota Connected from its 2016 launch as a vehicle-data and mobility business.
- Served as Toyota Motor North America’s first chief digital officer.
- Inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame in 2019.
- Recipient of the AIS Leadership Excellence Award.
- Recipient of Pepperdine Graziadio’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
- Served on Signet Jewelers’ board from October 2018 and now chairs its Technology Committee.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Published a personal-site essay on senior sponsorship and the challenge of scaling enterprise AI beyond prototypes.
- **2026-03** — Departed Kimberly-Clark effective March 31, as announced in its November 2025 Form 8-K.

## Links

- Website: https://zackhicks.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-hicks-65abaa20
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/zhicks

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/zack-hicks
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25