Ivan Espinosa was chosen by Nissan’s board of directors to lead the company as its new CEO. This decision comes after months of layoffs, financial struggles, and fallen deals under Makoto Uchida’s leadership.
IVAN ESPINOSA
Ivan Espinosa is set to officially join Nissan on April 1, 2025—ending weeks of speculation regarding Uchida’s replacement. Prior to this, reports from Japan claimed that Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin and Chief Performance Officer Guillaume Cartier were also in talks to replace Uchida.
An employee of over 20 years at Nissan, Espinosa was previously in charge of its global product planning. Espinosa’s expertise in Nissan comes from previous positions handling regions such as Southeast Asia and Europe. In 2024, he was promoted to Chief Planning Officer. This promotion was the result of a company-wide pivot to electric vehicles (EV).
Uchida previously touted Espinosa as “a real car guy,” alluding to the latter’s passion for cars. From Uchida’s term, Espinosa is set to inherit the company’s financial struggles, a shaky credit status, and Uchida’s failed negotiations with Honda.
Espinosa has expressed intentions to “bring stability and growth back to the company.” As a car enthusiast himself, expectations are set for Espinosa to bring back classics, sports cars, and even electric sports cars. Additionally, it is still unclear whether the successor will resume negotiations with Honda.
“I sincerely believe that Nissan has so much more potential than what we’re seeing today,” said the new CEO at the introductory press conference. “I’m looking forward to building on the efforts of those who have come before me.”
Who are those who preceded Espinosa? Let’s take a look at the most recent:
CARLOS GHOSN (1999 – 2017)
Nissan’s string of CEO controversies has been well-documented. Most famous among them is Carlos Ghosn’s term. Before joining Nissan, Ghosn worked for Renault as executive vice president. He saw success alongside Francois Michelin and eventually joined Nissan in 1999, the same year Nissan and Renault formed an alliance. Ghosn’s Nissan journey began with his position as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Two years later, in 2001, Ghosn was named CEO. At the time, Ghosn was one of four non-Japanese people in auto history to lead a Japanese vehicle company.
Ghosn is also known for his “Nissan Revival Plan,” which he executed in 1999. The CEO effectively saved Nissan from bankruptcy but not without extreme measures. The plan outlined three major objectives, one of which was to “return to net profitability in fiscal year 2000.” Under his leadership and the revival plan, Ghosn laid off 21,000 employees and closed five factories. He was able to reduce Nissan’s large USD 20 billion debt by 69 per cent. The plan proved to be a success after the company reported USD 2.7 billion (AUD 4.28 billion) in profits for the year 2000.
In 2018, Nissan conducted an internal audit and found that Ghosn and his aide and Nissan director Greg Kelly had been under-reporting their salaries. Furthermore, both parties were found to have used company assets for personal gain. Reports from Japan revealed that Ghosn used Nissan’s funds to purchase residential properties in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Paris, and Amsterdam. The CEO was also found to have used Nissan’s money to fund family and personal vacations.
Both Ghosn and Kelly were eventually found guilty of financial misconduct. After Ghosn’s fall from grace, Nissan appointed Hiroto Saikawa as its CEO. Saikawa openly criticised Ghosn, expressing “disappointment, indignation, and despair at Ghosn’s conduct.”
HIROTO SAIKAWA (2017 – 2019)
Succeeding CEO Hiroto Saikawa had been at Nissan for 20 years before he was appointed CEO in 2017. Under the tutelage of Ghosn, Saikawa rose through the ranks from General Manager in 2000 to Executive Vice President and board member in 2005.
Saikawa also had a controversial departure in 2019. He was found to have “received USD 900,000 in overpayments through manipulated court documents” after an internal audit was conducted at the company. The CEO labelled these overpayments as “excess compensation,” which he claimed fellow executives also received. According to the CEO, these excesses were paid due to a “company error.” Saikawa willingly resigned thereafter and even vowed to repay what he owed the company in overpayments.
MAKOTO UCHIDA (2019 – 2025)
Uchida’s term as Nissan’s CEO began after Hiroto Saikawa’s turn in 2019. Unfortunately for Uchida, his run as CEO from 2019 to 2023 was marked by declining financial performance. Due to the company’s continuous financial struggles, Uchida was forced to cut jobs across the globe and even his own pay as a gesture of solidarity with Nissan employees. Thanks to this move, Nissan was able to reduce its costs by AUD 3.9 billion. To save the company, Uchida sold back some of its shares back to Mitsubishi and were in talks for a merger with fellow auto giant, Honda. Later on, these talks with Honda would prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Uchida’s run as CEO.
Originally planned in 2026, the merger fell through when Nissan backed out. Nissan claimed that negotiations with Honda meant that their partnership would be unequal. Reports claimed Honda proposed a complete acquisition of Nissan as a subisidiary instead of a partnership. Eventually, Honda said that the company is willing to resume its negotiations with Nissan if Uchida were to resign.
Increasing pressure from both Honda and Nissan’s board of members finally pushed Uchida to concede and resign from his post.
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