IRVINE, Calif. -

Kia Motors America on Thursday announced the appointments of three leaders to executive vice president positions.

KMA President and chief executive officer Byung Mo Ahn said that receiving the promotions were Tom Loveless, Michael Sprague and John Yoon. The automaker went on to stress the impact each has had in their respective areas of management (Loveless in sales, Sprague in marketing and communications and Yoon in human resources/administration, legal and diversity relations).

“Kia Motors has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several years, with Tom, Michael and John each playing important roles in the brand’s success and momentum,” Ahn said. “One of our company’s core values is people, and we are dedicated to recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance and providing team members with opportunities to grow.”

Sharing more about each of the appointees, Kia said Loveless joined KMA in 2007 as vice president of sales. Since then, the company reports that the brand has seen consistent growth including best-ever year-end market share totals each year, and 21 consecutive monthly sales records through May 2012.

Meanwhile, Sprague signed on at KMA in 2008 as vice president of marketing and communications. During his tenure, the company’s marketing activities expanded to include Super Bowl advertising, its award-winning hamster marketing campaigns for the Soul urban passenger vehicle, and sports marketing initiatives including partner relationships with the NBA and LPGA.

Yoon, who joined KMA in 2000 as vice president of human resources/administration and general counsel, oversaw the design and construction of Kia’s $130 million corporate campus here.

The campus includes the company’s corporate headquarters and its state-of-the-art Kia Design Center America. The center, opened in 2008, recently earned Architectural Record’s Good Design is Good Business award.

In other KMA news, five employees have been promoted to the position of executive director. They are Tim Chaney, marketing communications; Bob Kuntze, distribution and logistics; Julie Kurcz, product quality; Adam Perlow, retail operations; and Percy Vaughn, regional operations, Southern region.