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Nissan Names a C.E.O., Makoto Uchida, to Lead Post-Ghosn Era Nissan Names a C.E.O., Makoto Uchida, to Lead Post-Ghosn Era
(about 7 hours later)
TOKYO — In a surprise announcement, Nissan said Tuesday that it had selected a new chief executive to lead the embattled Japanese automaker, following the resignation of its former chief last month over a pay scandal. TOKYO — In a surprise announcement, Nissan said Tuesday that it had selected a new chief executive to lead the embattled Japanese automaker as it tries to recover from deteriorating profits and crumbling leadership.
Makoto Uchida, 53, will head the company beginning no later than Jan. 1, Nissan officials announced at a news conference at its headquarters in Yokohama. Mr. Uchida has worked at the company since 2003 and led its China operations since 2018. China is considered a key market for the struggling company. The new chief, Makoto Uchida, has worked at the company since 2003 and was named to lead its China operations last year. China is considered a key market for Nissan.
Mr. Uchida takes the reins of the company as it faces its biggest challenges in nearly two decades. Almost one year since the ouster of its former leader, Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s profits have plunged. Its sales have dropped. And its leadership has crumbled following the resignation last month of its chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, over pay issues. The chaos has led to an exodus of top employees, and the company is in the process of cutting 12,500 jobs worldwide. Mr. Uchida, 53, takes the reins of a company facing its biggest challenges in nearly two decades. In less than a year since Carlos Ghosn was ousted as chairman on charges of financial misconduct, Nissan’s profits have plunged, its sales have dropped and its leadership has eroded. Last month, its chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, resigned over pay issues. The chaos has led to an exodus of top employees, and the company is cutting 12,500 jobs worldwide.
“We expect Mr. Uchida to lead the company as a team, immediately focus on the recovery of the business and revitalize the company to make a new Nissan,” Nissan’s chairman, Yasushi Kimura, told reporters.“We expect Mr. Uchida to lead the company as a team, immediately focus on the recovery of the business and revitalize the company to make a new Nissan,” Nissan’s chairman, Yasushi Kimura, told reporters.
“It is very important to demonstrate that this is a new Nissan,” Mr. Kimura said. Mr. Uchida was the board’s unanimous choice, officials said.
The selection of Mr. Uchida was unanimous, officials said. Nissan is part of a global carmaking alliance with the French company Renault and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, but Nissan and Renault have repeatedly clashed over management issues. The relationship rapidly deteriorated after the exit of Mr. Ghosn, who had worked to merge the companies, an effort that rankled some at Nissan who felt the company should remain independent.
Nissan has repeatedly clashed with its alliance partner, French automaker Renault, over management issues. The relationship deteriorated dramatically following the exit of Mr. Ghosn, who had worked to merge the companies, an effort that rankled some at Nissan who felt the company should remain independent. Mr. Uchida was selected because of his experience abroad, as well as his understanding of the importance of the alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, the head of the board’s nomination committee, Masakazu Toyoda, told reporters.
Mr. Uchida was selected due to his experience abroad, as well as his dedication to the importance of the company’s alliance with its partners Renault and Mitsubishi, the head of the board’s nomination committee, Masakazu Toyoda, told reporters. The company also announced the appointment of two other senior executives, in an effort to show it was making a clean break from the management issues that have plagued it since Mr. Ghosn was detained last November.
The company also announced the appointment of another two senior executives, in an effort to show it was making a clean break from the management issues that have plagued it since the exit of Mr. Ghosn. Ashwani Gupta, the chief operating officer at Mitsubishi and a former executive at Renault, was named Nissan’s chief operating officer. Jun Seki, a senior vice president at Nissan, will become vice chief operating officer.
Ashwani Gupta, the current chief operating officer at Mitsubishi and a former executive at Renault, was named Nissan’s chief operating officer. Jun Seki, a senior vice president at Nissan, will become vice chief operating officer.
“We selected the people who can show that this is a new Nissan in a strong way,” Mr. Kimura said.“We selected the people who can show that this is a new Nissan in a strong way,” Mr. Kimura said.
The unexpected announcement came during a news conference following a meeting of the company’s full board in Yokohama. Nissan officials had previously announced that they would select a new chief executive by the end of October. Renault had no immediate comment on the announcement. But Jean-Dominique Senard, Renault’s chairman and a member of Nissan’s board, saw the appointments as a positive move that could help the alliance get past its recent problems, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Both Mr. Uchida and Mr. Gupta have worked closely with the French automaker in the past and understand that preserving the alliance is critical to Nissan’s future as it faces a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive auto-industry, the person said.
The unexpected announcement was made during a news conference after a meeting of the company’s full board in Yokohama. Nissan officials had previously said they would select a new chief executive by the end of October.
“I thought the sooner the better,” Mr. Kimura said in response to questions about the accelerated schedule.“I thought the sooner the better,” Mr. Kimura said in response to questions about the accelerated schedule.
Mr. Kimura declined to answer questions about tensions at the company, and particularly the future of Hari Nada, a powerful senior Nissan executive who has become the subject of controversy over possible conflicts of interest regarding the investigation of Mr. Ghosn. Board members spent a significant portion of the meeting discussing how to get past the infighting that has divided the company’s top ranks in recent months, said a Nissan official who attended the board meeting but was not authorized to speak about it publicly. Among the topics was how to deal with concerns about Hari Nada, the chief of the company’s legal department.
Mr. Nada played a key role in the ouster of Mr. Ghosn and has struck a cooperation agreement with Japanese prosecutors to receive immunity in return for providing evidence against his ex-boss. Mr. Ghosn has been charged with four charges of financial wrongdoing, and awaits trial in Tokyo on bail. He says he is innocent of all charges. Mr. Nada played a key role in the ouster of Mr. Ghosn and has struck a cooperation agreement with Japanese prosecutors to receive immunity in return for providing evidence against his ex-boss. Mr. Ghosn has been charged with four counts of financial wrongdoing, and awaits trial in Tokyo on bail. He says he is innocent of all charges.
Mr. Nada’s continued role at the company has been a point of concern for some directors and executives, who believe that he has been an obstacle to attempts to reform the company’s governance as it seeks to move past an era of top-down leadership, much criticized since Mr. Ghosn’s arrest in November. Mr. Nada’s continued role at the company has been a point of concern for some directors and executives, who believe that he has been an obstacle to attempts to reform the company’s governance as it seeks to move past an era of top-down leadership, much criticized since Mr. Ghosn’s arrest.