Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s Chief Executive Officer, reportedly intends to keep his position in the company despite saying in January that he would step downshortly .
According to Bloomberg, though, which cites people familiar with the matter, Saikawa said during an internal meeting that he plans to stay at least three more years as a CEO in order to help Nissan recover from the Ghosn scandal.
The same sources claim he detailed his plan about the length of his tenure to senior executives soon after the January 24 press conference, where he indicated that he would give up his position “as soon as possible”.
Saikawa, who publicly accused Ghosn of financial misconduct, was appointed Nissan CEO in 2017 by Ghosn. Tensions between the two emerged after an inspection scandal forced Nissan to shut down Japanese production for two weeks and recall one million vehicles. Ghosn then criticized Saikawa for moving too slowly to address the company’s problem.
Despite of Saikawa’s plans, there’s no guarantee that he will stay at Nissan’s top spot if the company takes a serious hit from the Ghosn scandal. However, if he manages to cement his position in the company, he could make things harder for Renault, who is said to want to push for deeper ties with its Japanese partner.
If Saikawa indeed wants to stay for three more years, that means that his tenure will be extended until 2022 and coincide with Nissan’s “MOVE to 2022” strategy plan. According to “MOVE to 2022”, Nissan want to boost revenue to 16.5 trillion yen ($148.6 billion) and its operating margin to 8 percent.