JACK HOLLIS and ED LAUKES

Toyota is using its eight-year sponsorship of the Olympic and Paralympic games to reposition itself as a mobility company in front of a global audience. Jack Hollis, 51, and Ed Laukes led a crucial part of this effort.

"Start Your Impossible," Toyota's first global marketing campaign, debuted in 27 countries during the Winter Games in South Korea in February. The campaign showed Toyota's evolution by highlighting mobility stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes as well as everyday athletes who demonstrate humility, hard work and perseverance.

"This isn't just a marketing campaign. This is the company's expansion of who we are," Hollis told Automotive News last year. "This was built out of Mr. Toyoda's belief that nobody should be without the ability to move freely."

Laukes said mobility goes well beyond cars and is a human right. Toyota's Olympic and Paralympic alignment, Laukes said, is a reflection of the automaker's commitment to providing freedom of movement for all.

"We're still selling cars and trucks. We're still focusing on providing great mobility within that framework," Laukes told Automotive News. But "Toyota feels that we have a responsibility to improve mobility ... and that means the ability to get out of bed in the morning to be able to move across the globe."

Laukes was previously Toyota's vice president of integrated marketing operations, and vice president of engagement marketing and guest experience. He joined Toyota in 1989.

Hollis, hired by Toyota in 1992, has had multiple national and regional management positions for Toyota and Lexus.