The president, CEO, and representative executive officer of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is Makoto Uchida.
Throughout his career, Uchida held a range of jobs at both Nissan and the Alliance. Uchida began working for Nissan in 2003 and held positions across the Alliance, including corporate vice president of Alliance Purchasing from 2016 to 2018. He also served as manager of the Renault-Nissan Purchasing Organization (RNPO) from 2006 to 2016. Uchida has tried to improve synergies with Alliance partners during his time at Nissan.
Uchida oversaw Nissan’s operations in China in his most recent position as senior vice president of Nissan, chairman of the Management Committee for China (MC China), and president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Group’s joint venture in China. Uchida increased Nissan’s foothold in the Chinese market during this time.
Doshisha University in Japan awarded a theology degree to Makoto Uchida. He is bilingual in English and Japanese.
In This Article...
José Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn is a Lebanese businessman who was born in Brazil (/goUn/; French: [kaRlos gon]; Arabic: krlws GSn; Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [‘ka:rlos ‘gos?n], born 9 March 1954). Ghosn is also a citizen of France. He is an internationally sought-after fugitive as of January 2020. Ghosn served as the CEO of Michelin North America as well as the chairman and CEO of Renault, AvtoVAZ, Nissan, and Mitsubishi Motors. In addition, Ghosn served as the chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, an alliance formed by these three automakers through a complicated cross-shareholding contract. Since 2010, the partnership has held a 10% share of the global market, and as of 2017, it was thought to be the biggest vehicle group globally.
Ghosn was appointed as Louis Schweitzer’s deputy at Renault in 1996 and given the responsibility of rescuing the firm from the brink of bankruptcy. Ghosn developed a cost-cutting strategy for the years 1998 to 2000 that included a personnel reduction, changes to the production process, standardization of car parts, and a push for the introduction of new models. Major organizational changes were also made by the company, including the introduction of a lean production system with delegated responsibilities (the “Renault Production Way”), a reform of work practices, and the centralization of research and development at its Technocentre to lower the costs of vehicle conception while accelerating such conception. Ghosn earned the moniker “Le Cost Killer.” He gained the moniker “Mr. Fix It” in the early 2000s for planning one of the auto industry’s most aggressive downsizing initiatives and leading Nissan out of its financial crisis in 1999.
After Nissan’s financial turnaround, he was named Asia Businessman of the Year by Fortune in 2002. He was named one of the top ten business leaders outside of the United States by Fortune in 2003, and the Asian version of Fortune named him Man of the Year. He was ranked third most recognized business leader in 2004, and fourth most respected in 2003, according to surveys conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Financial Times. His life has been depicted in Japanese comic books, and he swiftly rose to fame in Japan and the corporate world.
On April 1, 2017, Ghosn resigned as CEO of Nissan, but he remained the company’s chairman. On November 19, 2018, he was detained at Tokyo International Airport on suspicion of underreporting his pay and flagrantly misusing business resources. Nissan’s board unanimously decided to remove Ghosn as chairman of the company on November 22, 2018, with immediate effect. On November 26, 2018, the executive board of Mitsubishi Motors made a similar decision. At first, Renault and the French government stood by him and assumed he was innocent until proven guilty. Ghosn was forced to step down as chairman and CEO of Renault on January 24, 2019, when they ultimately decided that the situation was intolerable. Ghosn was re-arrested in Tokyo on April 4, 2019, while he was still free on bail that had been granted in early March, on fresh charges of stealing money from Nissan. Nissan shareholders decided to remove Ghosn from the board of directors on April 8th. On April 25, he was once more given a bail release. Renault discovered 11 million euros in dubious expenditures by him in June, which prompted a French probe and raids.
On December 30, 2019, Ghosn violated the terms of his release by taking a private jet from Japan to Lebanon through Turkey, with the assistance of an American private security contractor who was concealed inside a musical instrument box. Interpol sent a red alert to Lebanon on January 2, 2020, requesting the arrest of Ghosn. Since his escape, he has been the topic of numerous interviews with the media, books, a European TV series, and a BBC documentary called Storyville.
Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive auto magnate, is questioned by French investigators in Beirut.
On Wednesday, Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, was criticized by the company’s chief executive, Makoto Uchida, for abusing his position of authority, not listening to others, and staying on for an excessive amount of time.
These were the factors, according to Uchida, who stated on Wednesday that Ghosn was accused of financial malfeasance. He was giving testimony on behalf of Nissan, a corporate body that is being tried for allegedly falsifying securities reports to conceal Ghosn’s remuneration. It does not refute the allegations.
Greg Kelly, a former executive vice president of Nissan who is American, is also on trial for allegedly neglecting to disclose all of Ghosn’s salary. He and Ghosn have both strongly maintained their innocence.
Ghosn was detained in 2018, but fled while free on bail to Lebanon. Japan and Lebanon do not share an extradition agreement.
Uchida expressed her feelings toward the allegations against Ghosn and Nissan before the Tokyo District Court by saying, “I felt guilty and miserable when I realized that something this awful was happening.”
He said that the management had lost the workers’ trust and that the Nissan brand had been damaged.
According to Uchida, there was a culture of fear at the firm, and employees thought there were substantial risks involved with questioning Ghosn.
We were merely attempting to perform songs that our boss would find pleasing, he claimed. Since I became CEO, I’ve been trying to fix that.
About 20 years ago, Nissan’s French alliance partner Renault sent Ghosn to the company in an effort to save a struggling business. According to Uchida, he started working less cooperatively about 2014 and the business started chasing sales volume, establishing unrealistically lofty expectations.
While some Nissan employees might have felt Ghosn remained in charge for too long, Kelly has maintained in his testimony that the company was attempting to find legal ways to increase his pay in order to keep him from leaving for a rival automaker when problems with the reporting of his compensation arose. When the disclosure of high-level executive wages became necessary in Japan in 2010, Ghosn took a significant pay decrease.
In 2019, Uchida was appointed president and CEO. Before joining Nissan in 2003, when Nissho Iwai combined with another trading company, Nichimen, to become Sojitz Corp., he was employed by the significant Japanese trade corporation Nissho Iwai Corp.
Hiroto Saikawa, Uchida’s predecessor, resigned after becoming caught up in a scandal of his own involving underreported pay. Saikawa is not facing any charges.
Nissan has pledged to improve its corporate governance and audits to stop any financial malfeasance from happening again.
Ghosn has claimed that other senior Nissan officials are scheming to oust him from the firm because they are worried he will try to increase Renault’s control over the Japanese manufacturer, which now owns 43 percent of Nissan.
Renault, Nissan, and the smaller automaker Mitsubishi Motor Corp. have an alliance where they share production facilities, technology, and auto parts. Because of this, analysts in the business say Nissan and Renault are almost inseparable.
When the three judges will announce their decision in the trial is currently unknown. It can require months. Kelly could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in jail.
Arrival and Accusations
Ghosn resigned from his position as CEO of Nissan on February 22, 2017. He would continue to lead the business as chairman, but Hiroto Saikawa, a protégé, would take over as CEO. Ghosn would continue in his roles as chairman of Mitsubishi and chairman and CEO of Renault.
At the time, Saikawa, Ghosn’s replacement as CEO of Nissan, stated: “Needless to say, this is an act which cannot be condoned by the firm.” Ghosn was fired by the board in unanimity.