2022 Canadians to Watch

CHOSEN BECAUSE:

Denver Pinto, 35, drew from his seven-plus years with Nissan Canada to ensure the success of the launch of the Frontier midsize pickup in the fall of 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic rendered the usual promotional activities obsolete, including auto shows, media events and dealership unveilings.

Pinto and his creative team had to “rewrite the playbook.” Their ideas included sending pre-production Frontiers to dealership events, an unveiling at Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall, and virtual walkarounds of the new pickup via Zoom. He said the tactics have become standard operating procedure.

The Oakville, Ont., resident comes from a sales background and had built a healthy relationship with Nissan dealers in a previous role, reforming the ordering process so they could get vehicles they believe are best for their markets.

With dealers firmly on the Frontier's side, market share in Canada has risen to more than 10 per cent today from 6.5 in 2019.

Pinto is also responsible for promoting the GT-R and the new Z sports cars as well as the Pathfinder and Armada utility vehicles.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:

“That’s the beauty of Nissan. It’s an organization that loves to challenge. This role, chief marketing management, is unique [to Nissan]. I’m essentially the CEO for the vehicle.”