Nissan vice president leaves the board, future is unclear

Although the financial and product outlook has increased to NISSANThe boardroom intrigue continues at Japan’s third-largest automaker.

Ashwani GuptaThe company’s chief executive officer (COO), will not be re-elected to the automaker’s board when his term ends on June 27 and his future at Nissan is unclear.

Nissan is reducing the number of boards of directors from 12 to 10. Current board members, including CEO Makoto Uchida and representatives from Alliance partner Renault, make up nine of those positions. .

The only new member added to the board is Brenda Harvey, who served as the CEO of IBM Asia Pacific operations until 2022 and is now the general manager of the public sector at Big. Blue in the United States and a branch of the federal government.

Gupta has been unusually prominent in his role as COO, playing a lead role in product and company announcements.

Based on ReutersDuring the pandemic, Gupta’s supporters were eager for him to be appointed co-CEO to improve relations with Renault and help run Nissan’s turnaround, but the promotion has failed. never happen.

Gupta started his automotive career in 1996 Gupta when he joined Honda’s motobike India. There, he rose to become head of the company’s new model development department.

He moved to Renault India in 2006 to take on the role of general manager in charge of purchasing. In 2011, he took up a senior role at Datsun, cheap brand of Nissan. By 2014, he was the head of the light commercial vehicle division of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

At the beginning of 2019, Gupta became the chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors, of which Nissan holds a 34% controlling stake. In October 2019, he was appointed CEO of Nissan, sitting alongside newly appointed CEO Makoto Uchida, who was the previous head of Nissan China.

The dual appointment is Nissan’s most obvious attempt to draw a line in the turmoil following the November 2018 arrest of Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn.

Without Ghosn to hold the French and Japanese automakers together, members of the Alliance have struggled to chart a path forward. Not only does the alliance need to plan for electric vehicles, but there are long-standing doubts about Renault’s desire to merge with Nissan and the French company’s overwhelming influence at Nissan, which generates most of its sales. sales for a long time. profit.

Last Nissan and Renault claim to re-establish their relationship in early 2023. Changes included Renault’s promise to sell off Nissan’s shares and limit voting rights to 15%. On the other hand, Nissan will eventually gain voting rights in Renault, and the Japanese company will hold a 15% stake in Renault’s electric vehicle arm.