The Prius-hacking Silicon Valley star shaping Toyota's future

James Kuffner once reprogrammed a Prius to turn it into a driverless vehicle for Google. Now, he's a top executive at Toyota Motor Corp., charged with hacking the way it approaches the business of carmaking. Handpicked by President Akio Toyoda, the 50-year-old tech-industry veteran's mandate as chief digital officer is to keep the world's No. 1 automaker on top as cars become more like computers. The shift to electrified, autonomous vehicles is the most disruptive force sweeping the industry, with Apple Inc. and other Big Tech challengers muscling in. At stake for Toyota is a global manufacturing empire churning out more than 10 million vehicles a year.