Nissan Motor Company said Ashwani Gupta, the company’s representative executive officer and chief operation officer (COO), would leave at the end of the month to “pursue other opportunities”.

The surprise announcement followed reports of a recent executive clash at the company, pointing to ongoing turmoil and lack of management stability. Gupta was appointed COO of Nissan in December 2019, to head the company’s recovery following the ousting and subsequent arrest of former CEO Carlos Ghosn.

In a statement Nissan said Gupta “has been instrumental in the development and execution of the NEXT transformation plan which focuses on establishing the foundation of Nissan’s business towards growth. He also held key management positions and has been a driving force in various Alliance projects over several years”.

Under his management, Nissan successfully negotiated a rebalancing of the 20 year Alliance with Renault, with the French automaker agreeing to reduce its shareholding in Nissan from over 43% to 15%, in line with Nissan’s stake in Renault.

Nissan said Gupta would formally step down from the board of directors at the end of the annual general meeting of shareholders on 27 June when a new executive line up would be announced.