HYUNDAI Motor Company Australia (HMCA) has appointed Don Romano as its new president and chief executive officer, effective 10 March 2025. He will also act as an advisor to Hyundai Motor Asia Pacific.

Succeeding Ted Lee, who will remain in Australia as chief executive coordinator following three years at the HMCA helm, Mr Romano becomes the local Hyundai subsidiary’s first non-Korean CEO.

Don Romano

He brings 40 years of automotive industry experience, most recently a successful 10-year term as president and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada (HAC), in which he oversaw a period of record growth culminating in an all-time peak of 138,755 vehicles sold in 2024.

During Mr Romano’s leadership, HAC became Canada’s second-largest import brand and fourth-largest automotive brand overall, with a network of 226 Hyundai dealers and 31 Genesis distributors nationwide.

HAC also became Canada’s largest mainstream seller of electric vehicles during Mr Romano’s tenure.

Mr Romano’s accomplishments at HAC include retailing 1.38 million Hyundai and Genesis vehicles since joining Hyundai Canada in January 2014, achieving market share growth for Hyundai in Canada from 7.3 per cent to 8.2 per cent, and successfully launching the Genesis luxury brand in 2016.

He also oversaw seven consecutive years of sales growth for Genesis, culminating in a record-breaking year in 2024 with more than 7000 vehicles sold.

Mr Romano said he was honoured to join Hyundai and Genesis in Australia and the broader Asia Pacific region while acknowledging the challenges of this market.

“With 74 competitor brands – expected to rise to 80 within the next 12 months – Australia is one of the most challenging automotive markets on earth,” he said.

“I look forward to working with the HMCA team to promote our world-beating products and to exceed customer expectations at every touchpoint.”

Mr Romano joins HMCA at a time when sales are down 3.3 per cent year-to-date against an overall new-vehicle market down 6.7 per cent, following a 4.7 per cent slide in 2024 while the broader market flatlined at 0.3 per cent growth.

In 2023, local Hyundai deliveries grew 2.5 per cent in a market that bounced back 12.5 per cent following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hyundai said Mr Romano is a champion of diversity and inclusion and has won numerous awards for his leadership, including two from Automotive News: North American Champion for Diversity in 2021 and Automotive All Star for Process Architecture in 2019.

Last year, he received a Canada Black Book’s Industry Icon Award and a Women’s Executive Network Alliance Ally of Excellence Award.

HAC has been recognised as one of the top 50 best workplaces in Canada for the past seven consecutive years by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Mr Romano has a Bachelor of Science in business administration from California State University and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

He began his automotive career in 1985 with Nissan USA and later joined Mazda, where he oversaw the award-winning “Zoom-Zoom” campaign as the North American CMO.

After being promoted to president of Mazda Canada in 2006, Mr Romano maintained his responsibilities as chief marketing officer. During his time at Mazda, he oversaw record-setting growth in Canada and led Mazda’s brand-building activities across North America.

Mr Romano is an avid surfer, scuba diver, and skier, and an Ontario Masters gold medallist in swimming.

He is moving to Sydney from Stouffville, Ontario with his wife of 35 years and two Australian Shepherds.