Report: Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida could be replaced this week
Nissan board apparently wants a new CEO
Nissan had quite the start to 2025. After first announcing they were interested in merging with Honda before the holidays last year, both Nissan and Honda formally announced that the deal had been canceled. This comes after weeks of negotiations ended up without a mutual agreement due to varying differences between the two automakers.
With that, Nissan is apparently looking for a new partner and is currently interested in working with electronics giant Foxconn. Unfortunately, Nissan continues to bleed money despite the company's best efforts to stave off its financial woes. With the company still experiencing strife and Honda only interested in going back to the negotiation table with a different CEO, the board of directors at Nissan is supposedly looking to replace Makoto Uchida as head of the company.
Current Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida
Based on a report by Reuters, people familiar with the matter shared with the publication that the Nissan board is set to discuss potential successors to replace Makoto Uchida as CEO since the automaker continues to perform badly. However, Uchida's replacement might only be installed as a temporary or transitional leader as Nissan navigates its financial troubles.
Nissan CFO Jeremie Papin
The board is set to meet this coming March 11, 2025, and there are already possible candidates Nissan could appoint as its new CEO. One of them is Jeremie Papin who is currently the brand's Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He was only appointed as CFO last January 2025 and used to be the Chairperson of the Management Committee for the Americas, as well as overseeing Nissan and Infiniti in the region.
Nissan Chief Planning Officer Ivan Espinosa
Another possible candidate is Ivan Espinosa who was appointed Chief Planning Officer at Nissan in April 2024 amid the brand's pivot towards EVs. He first joined Nissan in 2003 and has overseen product planning and managed the brand's global product strategy through the years. He has spent his time mostly in Mexico but he has also been appointed positions in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Nissan Chief Performance Officer Guillaume Cartier
A 30-year veteran of the company could also be appointed as the new Nissan CEO and goes by the name of Guillaume Cartier. He was recently appointed as Chief Performance Officer at Nissan last December 2024 and continues to oversee several regions like the Americas, Africa, Europe, India, Japan, and the Middle East. He has also experience in aftersales and global sales. Cartier first joined the company in 1995 as an aftersales manager and has also worked with Mitsubishi Motors.
Jun Seki pictured on the right
Last but certainly not least is Jun Seki who is currently serving as Foxconn's Chief Strategy Officer for its EV business. He was one of the budding candidates to take the reins at Nissan but lost to current Nissan CEO Uchida in 2019. After that, Seki was tasked with Nissan's turnaround plan but ultimately left to join Japanese motor maker Nidec. He left the motor maker company two years after due to weakening profits but soon joined Foxconn in early 2023. Japanese media has since mentioned that Seki could lead Nissan if the automaker were to continue merger talks with Honda.
