Kyodo News report that Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nissan Motor Co., will leave as head of Japanese operations and take charge of North American operations.
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Vice President Norio Matsumura, who is now responsible for North American operations, will succeed Ghosn as chief in Japan in a management reshuffle to take effect April 1, Nissan said.
The personnel reshuffle is part of organizational changes designed to ensure the successful completion of Nissan’s three-year business plan that began in April 2002.
Ghosn’s managerial expertise is seen as the key to enhancing Nissan’s business in the lucrative and competitive North American market in its ambitious goal of boosting worldwide sales by 1 million vehicles from the fiscal 2001 level of 2.6 million in a one-year period through September 2005.
Ghosn will see the number of business fields in charge cut to six from the current 12, according to Nissan, which is scheduled to announce its next three-year business plan on April 26.
Ghosn, a former Renault SA executive known for his hard-line cost-cutting approach, has played a key role in turning Nissan around since he became responsible for Nissan’s Japan operations in April 2001.
Matsumura, Ghosn’s successor in Japan, will also remain in charge of global market and sales, Nissan said.
Ghosn is scheduled to become CEO of the automaker’s French parent, Renault, in 2005 while serving as Nissan president with a plan to let a Japanese executive assume the post of CEO of Nissan.
