Dive Brief:
- Nissan will not replace former Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta following his tumultuous exit from the company earlier this month, according to a press release Wednesday.
- The company said other executives would collectively take over the former COO’s responsibilities.
- Gupta oversaw the automaker’s Nissan Next transformation, which included plans to electrify the automaker’s vehicles and boost global production to 5.4 million units annually.
Dive Insight:
Nissan said June 15 that Gupta would step down from his role to “pursue other opportunities” and retire from the board of directors June 27. His ouster followed reports that he disagreed with Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida over the automaker’s effort to reboot its partnership with Renault.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Nissan could soon invest in Renault’s electric-vehicle business Ampere.
“The talks are accelerating because changes in Nissan’s top management removed an obstacle between the partners,” according to Bloomberg.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Nissan installed a camera surveillance system in Gupta’s home to allow the company’s internal security team to monitor him. The automaker is investigating claims that Uchida was surveilling the former COO as part of an attempt to remove him from the company.
Uchida said Nissan’s new management structure would allow the company to deliver on its growth plans after the automaker failed to meet its targets in recent years.
“In response to the constantly evolving market conditions, we will introduce a flatter and agile leadership structure, which will further empower regional and functional leadership,” he said in a statement.
The chairs of the company’s regional management committees will join the executive committee and report directly to Uchida.
Hideyuki Sakamoto, executive vice president of manufacturing and supply chain management, will also manage purchasing under the new management structure.
CFO Stephen Ma will oversee operations performance in addition to his existing responsibilities.
