- Numerous high-ranking executives are shifting positions throughout Nissan’s leadership team.
- An important new hire is Christian Meunier, the former Global President of Jeep.
- Nissan is planning additional leadership changes in April 2025.
As Nissan fights for survival, it has announced several new appointments to its leadership team that hopes will allow it to succeed in an increasingly competitive market filled with new players producing ever more advanced vehicles.
For starters, outgoing Nissan chief financial officer Stephen Ma will leave his current post and become the chairperson of the Management Committee for China. He will be tasked with shaping Nissan’s future strategy in China and will report directly to chief executive Makoto Uchida.
Read: Former Jeep Boss Slated To Help Nissan And Infiniti Turnaround
Replacing Ma as chief financial officer will be Jeremie Papin, who is currently the chairperson of the Management Committee for Americas. Stepping up to fill Papin’s vacant position as chairperson of the Management Committee for Americas is Christian Meunier. He will report to Nissan’s new chief performance officer, Guillaume Cartier, who started in his new role on December 1.
The signing of Christian Meunier is particularly big news. He served as the Global President of Jeep between 2019 and 2023 and was a member of the Executive Committee at Stellantis. He has also held leadership roles at Nissan US, Canada, Brazil, and global Infiniti.
The leadership shake-up doesn’t stop there. Nissan’s current chief brand & customer officer (CBCO) and chairperson of the Management Committee for Japan/ASEAN, Asako Hoshino, will relinquish her role overseeing the Japan/ASEAN operations and double-down on her focus as CBCO. Taking over as the Japan/ASEAN lead will be Shohei Yamazaki, Nissan’s current chairperson of the Management Committee for China.
These changes will be made effective January 1, 2025. Nissan is promising to make additional management changes in April “to create a lean, flat structure than can respond flexibly and quickly to changes in the business environment.”
The shake-up comes as Nissan battles declining sales in key global markets. Last year, it sold 834,097 vehicles in the United States, almost 300,000 vehicles less than a decade ago. It also needs to expand its number of hybrid offerings in the US, where those vehicles are experiencing a sharp rise in demand.
