Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Leadership History
5 leaders · 1957 to present
Ivan Espinosa is the CEO of Nissan, in the role since 2025. The first chief executive was Carlos Ghosn, from 1999.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Espinosa | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2025 | Present | 1 |
| Makoto Uchida | Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO | 2019 | 2025 | 6 |
| Hiroto Saikawa | Chief Executive Officer | 2017 | 2019 | 2 |
| Carlos Ghosn | Executive Officer & CEO | 1999 | 2017 | 18 |
| Katsuji Kawamata | President & Chairman | 1957 | 1973 | 16 |
Nissan is one of Japan's largest and oldest automakers. It built the Datsun brand, popularized the Z and GT-R sports cars, and launched the Leaf in 2010 as one of the first mass-market EVs. Since the 2018 arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has been through repeated restructurings. Merger talks with Honda collapsed in February 2025, Ivan Espinosa replaced Makoto Uchida as CEO in April 2025, and the company is now in a cost-cutting turnaround called Re:Nissan while it keeps its alliance ties with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors. The company is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.
Nissan makes money in two segments. The automobile business designs, builds and wholesales Nissan, Infiniti and NISMO vehicles (crossovers such as the Rogue/X-Trail, Kicks and Qashqai, sedans such as the Sentra and Altima, pickups such as the Frontier/Navara, and EVs such as the Leaf, Ariya and Sakura) to franchised dealers, and also sells parts. The sales financing segment (for example NMAC in the U.S.) earns interest and lease income from retail loans, leases and dealer floorplan credit. In China, Nissan sells mainly through its 50:50 joint venture with Dongfeng, which is accounted for under the equity method, so those sales are not in reported revenue.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2025 – Present
1 year (current)
Mexican-born former chief planning officer who succeeded Makoto Uchida as CEO on April 1, 2025. Launched the Re:Nissan cost and restructuring plan and led Nissan back to a quarterly operating profit in Q1 FY2026.
Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO
2019 – 2025
6 years
Executed the Nissan NEXT turnaround; resolved cross-shareholding governance tensions with Renault; launched The Arc roadmap and Honda strategic alliance.
Returned Nissan to profit after the pandemic, but stepped down in March 2025 after results collapsed in FY2024 and merger talks with Honda failed.
Chief Executive Officer
2017 – 2019
2 years
Hiroto Saikawa served as chief executive of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. from 2017 to 2019.
Executive Officer & CEO
1999 – 2017
18 years
Executed the Nissan Revival Plan; dismantled closed keiretsu supplier monopolies; closed five uncompetitive plants; commercialized the 100% electric Nissan Leaf.
Rescued Nissan from imminent bankruptcy and built the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi global alliance.
President & Chairman
1957 – 1973
16 years
Spearheaded rapid export expansion to North America; negotiated the 1966 Prince Motor merger; greenlit the Datsun 240Z and Skyline GT-R.
Transformed Nissan from a domestic Japanese producer into an international export leader.
Nissan faces intense competitive and macroeconomic pressures in multiple operating regions. In mainland China, fierce domestic electric vehicle price competition from manufacturers like BYD, Geely, and Chery has eroded joint-venture market share and necessitated aggressive localized software innovation. In North America, high promotional incentives and dealer floorplan subsidies on compact sedans and crossover utility models have historically compressed automotive operating margins against rivals Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai. Furthermore, handling the rebalanced governance structure of the Renault-Nissan Alliance requires independent capital allocation toward battery gigafactories and solid-state battery pilot facilities, while managing commodity price swings in lithium, nickel, copper, and electrical silicon steel.
Key chief executives in Nissan's corporate history include Yoshisuke Aikawa (1933-1942; founder and industrial pioneer), Katsuji Kawamata (1957-1973; postwar export boom), Yoshikazu Hanawa (1996-2000; formed Renault Alliance), Carlos Ghosn (2001-2017; Nissan Revival Plan), Hiroto Saikawa (2017-2019), Makoto Uchida (2019-2025; Nissan NEXT and The Arc) and Ivan Espinosa (April 2025-present; Re:Nissan).
Faced with $20 billion in debt and near-bankruptcy, newly appointed COO Carlos Ghosn ('Le Cost Killer') closed 5 factories, cut 21,000 jobs, dismantled the traditional keiretsu supplier network, and restored Nissan to record operating profits within two years, becoming a celebrated corporate turnaround hero in Japan.
In November 2018, Tokyo prosecutors arrested Chairman Carlos Ghosn upon landing in Tokyo on allegations of financial misconduct, underreporting compensation, and misusing corporate funds; Ghosn was ousted from Nissan, placed under house arrest, and staged a sensational escape to Lebanon in December 2019 hidden inside an audio equipment case.
Makoto Uchida was appointed CEO in December 2019 to lead a unified collective leadership team. Uchida restored transparent corporate governance, repaired toxic relations with Renault, closed unprofitable global plants under Nissan NEXT, and re-established operational stability.
Ashwani Gupta served as Representative Executive Officer and COO of Nissan from 2019 to 2023, driving the operational execution of Nissan NEXT, product rationalization, and North American manufacturing turnaround before his departure in 2023.
Uchida stepped down at the end of March 2025 after Nissan's profits collapsed in FY2024 and merger talks with Honda ended in February 2025. The board picked chief planning officer Ivan Espinosa to succeed him from April 1, 2025.
Following the 2018 governance breakdown, Nissan transitioned to a 'Company with Three Statutory Committees' (Nomination, Audit, and Compensation), ensuring a majority of independent outside directors and separating the board chair from executive management.
Arriving from Renault in 1999, Carlos Ghosn launched the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), cutting $20 billion of corporate debt by closing five unprofitable domestic assembly plants, unwinding cross-shareholding keiretsu supplier networks, and revitalizing the vehicle lineup with the 350Z and G35.
Ivan Espinosa has been president and CEO of Nissan since April 1, 2025, succeeding Makoto Uchida (CEO from December 2019). His focus is the Re:Nissan plan: ~$3.35 billion (¥500 billion) in cost savings, about 20,000 job cuts, consolidating vehicle plants from 17 to 10, and faster product launches in core markets.
Katsuji Kawamata served as Nissan president from 1957 to 1973, transforming Nissan into an international export leader by introducing Datsun into North America, approving the well-known Datsun 240Z sports car, and merging with Prince Motor Company in 1966.
Yoshisuke Aikawa was an influential industrial entrepreneur who founded the Nihon Sangyo (Nissan) zaibatsu conglomerate. As Nissan's founding president from 1933 to 1942, Aikawa brought modern American mass-production machinery (purchasing the Graham-Paige tooling) and engineer William R. Gorham to establish Japan's first automated automotive assembly line.
In November 2018, Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on allegations of under-reporting executive compensation and misusing corporate funds for personal benefit. Ghosn denied the charges, claiming he was the victim of a corporate palace coup by conservative Nissan executives resistant to a full merger with Renault. In December 2019, Ghosn jumped bail in Tokyo and escaped to Lebanon.
Makoto Uchida was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Nissan in December 2019. Uchida prioritized restoring cultural trust, improving strained relations with alliance partner Renault, executing the "Nissan NEXT" restructuring plan to close redundant global capacity, and re-focusing Nissan on product quality and profitable electrification.
Serving as president from 1957 to 1973, Katsuji Kawamata modernized Nissan's labor relations, pushed aggressive export expansion into North America with the Datsun brand, orchestrated the Prince Motor Company merger, and built Nissan into Japan's second-largest automaker behind Toyota.
Following the rebalanced Alliance agreement finalized in 2023, Renault reduced its voting stake in Nissan to 15% (placing 28.4% into a neutral French trust), establishing reciprocal 15% cross-shareholdings with equal voting rights and granting Nissan board governance independence.
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