Bio of Max Gillard

Max Gillard, Vice-President of Toyota Technical Center Australia

Max Gillard is Vice President & Executive Director at Toyota Technical Center Australia (TTC-AU) and has held this position since mid-2004 when he left Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA).

His view on our R&D facility: “TTC-AU is a facility with a global view, making contributions for a variety of vehicles that are developed, manufactured and sold in various countries around the world. It is a leading design and development facility, based in Australia, which lends itself to the notion of Made in Toyota.”

Since 2004, Max has personally met all final applicants to TTC-AU’s graduate programme, ensuring that they are the people to follow the upward journey on “The Toyota Way”.

With a double degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Max joined TMCA in 1976 as a member of the Engineering Design Division. Over the years, he progressed through various design departments until 1985 when he established the Product Planning Department.

In 1988 Max was appointed General Manager of Product Planning at TMCA and served as an Officer of the GM/Toyota Joint Venture Company (U.A.A.I.) in Australia from 1988 to 1994.

In 1995 he assumed responsibility for all of Toyota’s Product Planning in Australia including Imported & Export models until 1999 when he was appointed to the position of General Manager – Purchasing.

Max returned to Engineering as Divisional General Manager in 2001 and was appointed to the Board of Directors at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia in 2003.

With a strong desire to strengthen Australia’s future in automotive design, Max is currently the President of the Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A) and holds the position of the automotive industry’s representative on the Prime Minister’s Bio Fuels Task Force.

In his spare time, Max enjoys restoring and driving his classic cars, water skiing and an occasional round of golf.