José Muñoz

José Muñoz is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Motor Company and is responsible for the Company’s global business as well as the Hyundai and Genesis brands.

Muñoz is the first non-Korean to be named global CEO of a major Korean conglomerate. Under his leadership, Hyundai has achieved consecutive record results which helped its parent Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) grow to be the third largest automaker in the world. He is a strong advocate for investing in new technologies and partnerships to make transportation safer and more sustainable.

He credits the Company’s success to the leadership of its Executive Chair Euisun Chung whose “Progress for Humanity” vision includes leveraging smart cities, electrification, air taxis, autonomous driving, robots, artificial intelligence and a hydrogen economy to improve the safety, sustainability and convenience of how people and goods move.

Muñoz has helped lead a product renaissance for the Hyundai and Genesis brands as evidenced by increasing sales, market share, dealer profitability and industry accolades. He has also led massive capacity expansion in the U.S. and globally, including a $12.6 billion investment in a new assembly plant and two battery joint ventures in Georgia, as well as capital investments in Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, the company’s Safety Test and Investigation Lab in Michigan and its North American headquarters in California. Hyundai is responsible for creating 190,000 jobs in the U.S. and contributing more than $20 billion in economic impact annually. The additional investments Muñoz has overseen will bring tens of thousands of additional direct and indirect American jobs.

Muñoz joined Hyundai Motor Company in 2019 as president and global chief operating officer and president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America, where he oversaw consecutive record sales. In 2022, Muñoz was appointed to the Hyundai Motor Company Board of Directors.

Following a career in nuclear engineering and aerospace, he has worked for many automakers in roles of increasing responsibility including, Daewoo, Toyota and Nissan where he served as chief performance officer and chair of China and North America.

Muñoz, a native of Spain and U.S. citizen, earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Polytechnic University of Madrid and has an MBA from Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School in Madrid. He has also completed executive management programs from Cranfield School of Management in the U.K. and INSEAD Business School in France. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French.