Nissan appoints Makoto Uchida as CEO, Ashwani Gupta as COO

Nissan Motor Co. has chosen Makoto Uchida, the current Senior Vice President, as the next Chief Executive and Ashwani Gupta as its Chief Operating Officer, according to media reports from Nikkei newspaper. 

During a board meeting, directors at Nissan including the ones from Renault SA, which happens to be their top shareholder, voted unanimously in favor of the two executives’ appointments. After months of upheaval at the second-largest automaker of Japan, this decision comes at the heels of the downfall of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn last year and the exit of CEO Hiroto Saikawa last month amidst financial misconduct scandals. 

The board believed that it was best if Saikawa stepped down from his position as the CEO after he accepted that he had been improperly overpaid. Nissan is walking a tight rope with its relationship with its biggest stakeholder Renault and internal disagreements have a role to play. 

Even though Uchida was not determined as one of the frontrunners, he has been selected as the one who will lead the automaker through turbulent times. The India-born Gupta is also the COO of alliance junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.