Nissan appoints new leadership: CEO and senior management changes announced

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced changes to its senior management, introducing a significantly renewed leadership line-up to achieve the company's short- and mid-term objectives while positioning it for long-term growth.
Effective April 1, the board of directors has approved titles and areas of responsibility for the representative executive officer and executive officers. Ivan Espinosa, currently the chief planning officer, has been appointed as the representative executive officer, president, and CEO, succeeding Makoto Uchida.
Executive Committee
Nissan is announcing significant changes to its Executive Committee, which will report to Espinosa effective April 1:
Guillaume Cartier, chief performance officer and chairperson of the Management Committee for AMIEO, will have an expanded role that includes global marketing and customer experience.
Eiichi Akashi, currently corporate vice president (CVP) of the Vehicle Planning and Vehicle Component Engineering Division, will become chief technology officer and executive officer, succeeding Kunio Nakaguro.
Teiji Hirata, currently CVP of Vehicle Production Engineering and Development Division, will take on the role of chief monozukuri officer and executive officer, responsible for Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, succeeding Hideyuki Sakamoto.
Jeremy Papin, chief financial officer, is also appointed executive officer.
Stephen Ma, chairperson of the Management Committee for China; Mitsuro Antoku, chief quality officer; and Toru Ihara, chief HR officer will continue in their current roles.
Uchida and Sakamoto will retain their position of director until the annual general meeting of shareholders planned for June.
Other key management appointments
Shohei Yamazaki, chairperson of the Management Committee for Japan-ASEAN, will have an expanded role that includes oversight of affiliate companies.
Christian Meunier, chairperson of the Management Committee for the Americas, will continue in his current position.
Tatsuzo Tomita, currently the CVP of Product Development No. 2, will succeed Akashi’s R&D responsibilities and will also take on the additional role of chief of Total Delivered Cost (TdC) Transformation, reporting to Espinosa.
Manabu Sakane, currently CVP of Purchasing, will become chief of Strategy Acceleration, reporting to Espinosa.
Executives leaving their positions
In addition to Nakaguro, Sakamoto and Uchida, the following executives will step down from their current roles on March 31.
Asako Hoshino, Chief Brand & Customer Officer
Hideaki Watanabe, Chief Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer
Background Information
Nissan Middle East
Nissan’s heritage in the Middle East goes way back to 1957, when the first Nissan vehicle was sold in Saudi Arabia. Since then the Nissan Legacy has taken deep roots in the hearts of the Middle East people by becoming an integral part of their lives.
Currently Nissan is one of the most popular and successful automobile brands in the Middle East boasting of a strong line-up ranging from popular passenger cars to powerful 4x4 series and commercial vehicles.
In its quest to closely understand the local needs of its customers, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. in June, 1994 set up a regional Middle East head quarters in Dubai, thus becoming the first Japanese car manufacturer to accomplish this feat. The Nissan Middle East FZE office houses a highly sophisticated training center which serves as an excellent training ground for undertaking Nissan customer care and service activities.