Rumors flew this month that South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. was looking to lure former Nissan Motor Corp. executive José Muñoz to lead its North American operations, based in Fountain Valley.
Hyundai didn’t confirm the whispers until last week, when it named Muñoz president and chief executive of Hyundai Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America and global chief operating officer.
Muñoz starts next week in Fountain Valley, where some 475 employees are located.
The 53-year-old will report to the automaker’s leadership in Seoul. Improving relationships with their U.S. dealerships is expected to be a priority.
Hyundai Motor President Won-Hee Lee said in a statement Muñoz’s experience “makes him well suited” for the company and it’ll “lean on his leadership skills and vision to achieve long-term sustainable growth and evolve into a smart mobility solutions provider.”
Muñoz previously served as Nissan’s chief performance officer and chairman of Nissan China. Muñoz was seen as a potential successor to Nissan’s top executive Carlos Ghosn, after the ousted former chairman’s arrest in November on corruption charges by Japanese officials but Muñoz left the company in January.
He succeeds Hyundai Motor North American president and chief executive and interim chief executive of Hyundai Motor America Yong-Woo “William” Lee.
It’s unclear where Lee will land next at the company. He took on his roles in June and October, respectively, last year when the automaker said it planned a global restructuring in the summer.
Film Festival Debuts Ad
The annual Newport Beach Film Festival kicked off this month with its own film, a trailer titled “Play: The Power of Ideas.”
The promo centers around a boy stuck between his parents’ bitter divorce. As they argue at dinner, the young boy plays with his toys—not realizing that the action is unfolding in real life, from a plane crash to a shark attack.
The nearly two-minute spot is meant to capture this year’s film festival theme on the “power of ideas and their potential to change the world.”
The campaign was created by Costa Mesa-based agency Garage Team Mazda, which also created last year’s film festival spot “Quota” that was named to Adweek’s Best 25 Ads of 2018.
The script was written by Garage Team Creative Director Melissa Webber and Writer Daniel Bremmer and produced by New York-based firm Reverse.
“Play” will open the festival and be screened before each of the 350 films on this year’s program.
The film festival runs through May 2.
Tilly’s Invests in Esports
Irvine-based retailer Tilly’s Inc. (NYSE: TLYS) is the latest OC firm dipping its toes into esports.
The retailer donated $10,000 to the High School Esports League, billed as the longest running high school esports organization with clubs in over 1,200 schools in North America. It’s based in Kansas City, Mo.
Funds will support part of the league’s scholarship prize pool that helps its players with college costs. Clubs recieved a “care package” with two HyperX headsets, NEFF T-shirts, PSD clothing, a Funko Pop figurine and more. Fountain Valley-based HyperX is the gaming unit of Kingston Technology.
Students can either play alone or as a member of their esports team by playing Tilly’s first augmented realty mobile game at school or inside Tilly’s store through May 4. Those who rack up the most points after the two-week competition win a new esports lab or single prizes for those playing individually.
“Esports are growing at a tremendous rate, particularly among some of our key target demographics,” said Chief Executive Ed Thomas, during its latest earnings call. “And we believe Tilly’s is well positioned to support this emerging and highly popular activity, while also driving additional customer engagement for us.”
The company recently traded at a $325 million market cap.
