Nissan appoints Makoto Uchida as new CEO, Ashwani Gupta as COO

Nissan has announced a major revamp to its top management structure in the wake of recent scandals. Today, the company’s board of directors appointed Makoto Uchida, current Nissan senior vice-president and president of the Dongfeng Motor Corporation, as representative executive officer and chief executive officer of Nissan.

Additionally, the board appointed current Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’s COO, Ashwani Gupta, the position of representative executive officer and chief operating officer of Nissan. Jun Seki, Nissan’s senior vice-president, has been appointed vice-COO and will report to Gupta.

Uchida has been with the Nissan Corporation for over 20 years and Gupta has been part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance since 2006 and has worked in the automotive Industry since 1996.

Born in July 1966, Makoto Uchida graduated in theology from Doshisha University, Japan, after which he joined the Nissho Iwai Corporation. In October 2003, he joined Nissan Motor Co. In September 2012, he was elevated to join Renault Samsung Motors in September 2012. In April 2014, he became program director, Nissan Motor Co; subsequently becoming corporate vice-president, Alliance Purchasing, in November 2016. In April 2018, he was promoted to senior vice-president, Nissan Motor Co; president, Dongfeng Motor Corporation – and to senior vice-president, Nissan Motor Co; president, Management Committee for China (MC China), Dongfeng Motor Co, in April 2019.

The carmaker says the appointments are aimed to be effective no later than January 1, 2020.

Commenting on the new management, Yasushi Kimura, chairman, board of directors, Nissan said, "The board concluded that Uchida is the right leader to drive the business forward. Nissan’s Nomination Committee led the nomination process and assessed candidates thoroughly in line with the new three-committee governance structure established in June. We expect Uchida to lead the company as one team, immediately focus on the recovery of the business and revitalise the company. We look forward to Gupta and Seki fully leveraging their expertise and experience to support the new CEO."