Leadership shuffled as Nissan sets new path

TOKYO — The new Nissan North America management team that takes the helm next month after the departure of regional chairman Jose Valls will be tasked with improving dealer engagement in preparation for a wave of next-generation products.

Valls, 52, is resigning for personal reasons, effective June 15, after just 14 months as chairman in charge of retuning Nissan's critical U.S. business with new plans and retail approaches.

His duties will be assumed by Jeremie Papin, 46, Nissan's finance chief for North America, who will oversee the region with the title of vice chairman.

Mike Colleran, 58, chairman of Infiniti worldwide, joins the Nissan management team as senior vice president for U.S. marketing and sales.

The shuffle is the latest in a string of senior management changes at Nissan in Japan and North America, and it comes as the parent company prepares to deliver a new midterm business plan that will prioritize a U.S. recovery for the automaker.

Global COO Ashwani Gupta, the architect of that new strategy, told Automotive News last week the keys to the plan will be improved dealer relations and a refreshed product lineup. The plan is expected to be announced May 28.

Gupta praised Valls for helping repair U.S. dealer relations, and he said the regional business is still in good hands with Papin's financial expertise and Colleran's local market knowledge.

Before taking the top post at the Infiniti brand in April 2019, Colleran's resume included management stints at Infiniti Americas, Nissan Division, Cadillac and Saab.

Gupta added that, going forward, he himself will maintain close oversight of U.S. operations.

"In our midterm plan, the U.S. is going to play a very important role," Gupta said. "That's why we have a new leadership team in place. And in addition to the leadership team, I'm going to oversee it myself personally to make sure that the U.S. gets all the attention which is needed, in terms of products, in terms of technology, in terms of resources."

Nissan executives have been laboring to rekindle North America as an earnings engine for the Japanese company. The U.S. is Nissan's second-biggest market after China. But the North American business is dogged by strained dealer relations and sagging profitability as it tries to shift away from costly factory incentives and the heavy use of fleet sales, which complicate the automaker's brand image and vehicle values.

Nissan Group's U.S. sales tumbled 30 percent through March in an overall market that was down 12 percent. Its market share shrank to 7.3 percent from 9.1 percent.

The coming business plan will rely on a dealer program launched this year called Nissan Drive 2020. It increases marketing outlays, raises incentives for retailers to clear out older inventory and boosts dealer bonuses for meeting sales targets and increases.

The accompanying product push began with the redesigned Sentra sedan this year and continues with the arrival of a new-generation Rogue crossover, Nissan's bestselling nameplate.

Gupta said Nissan will renew eight products over the next 28 months, which will dramatically slash the average age of the brand's long-in-the-tooth lineup. By the end of the rollout, Nissan's lineup will have an average age of just more than 3 years, compared with more than 5 years today, he said.

"This product strategy, which is focused on new products with advanced technology, will bring the momentum in our U.S. market," Gupta told Automotive News' "Daily Drive" podcast. "Brand power has to be built on the strength, No. 1 on product, No. 2 on dealer engagement."

Valls took the chairman post in April 2019, replacing Denis Le Vot, who occupied the chair for only 14 months.

Papin joined Nissan North America in 2018 from a role as global finance director for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. He will report to Christian Vandenhende, Nissan's vice chief performance officer.

Among other leadership changes announced by Nissan last week, Peyman Kargar will take over Colleran's role leading the Infiniti brand as chairman.

Colleran replaces Airton Cousseau in the sales and marketing position, as Cousseau is elevated to vice chairman for Nissan Latin America.

Cousseau is a former president of Nissan Mexico and a former executive with General Motors and Hyundai. He took over the top U.S. sales and marketing job at Nissan North America last July.

Jason Stein contributed to this report.