Mitsubishi says two U.S. executives have left
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LOS ANGELES -- Two of Mitsubishi's top U.S. executives have left the automaker, and the company has no immediate plan to fill the vacancies.
Gregory Adams, vice president of marketing and product strategy for Mitsubishi Motors North America, and Mike Krebs, vice president of corporate planning and incentives, both left "to pursue other opportunities," spokesman Dan Irvin said in an e-mail Friday. The departures occurred on Oct. 31.
Adams had been in the position since June 2010. Prior to joining Mitsubishi, he held a variety of sales, marketing and product-related positions with Ferrari, DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
Krebs, a 10-plus year veteran of Mitsubishi, was previously vice president of product strategy.
Irvin said Mitsubishi has no immediate plan to replace the executives.
"The key personnel in those departments remain at Mitsubishi and will manage the day-to-day operations, so we don't anticipate any disruption in those departments," Irvin said.
The departures come amid Mitsubishi's 51 percent gain in U.S. sales through October in a market that's up 10 percent from a year earlier. Mitsubishi, like all Japanese automakers, is also struggling with the Japanese yen soaring to all-time highs against the dollar.
Adams's departure comes in the early stages of the launch of Mitsubishi's all-electric i minicar, which have included digital, social media and television ads along with experiential promotions. Dealers in California, Oregon, Hawaii and Washington have demo units of the i in stock now, and the first retail deliveries of the car are expected to begin in January.
Adams also oversaw the U.S. launch of Mitsubishi's Outlander Sport small crossover and three major advertising campaigns featuring the Outlander Sport and the Outlander midsize crossover.
Mark Rechtin contributed to this report.
You can reach Ryan Beene at rbeene@crain.com. -- Follow Ryan on 
