Bangkok, Thailand – Japanese automaker Nissan has announced three new changes in the senior management of the company’s presence in the ASEAN region, a part of their midterm plan streamlining operation, financial stability and profitability.
Isao Sekiguchi (left of banner picture) has been appointed as regional vice president for marketing and sales in ASEAN, where he will report to Yukio Ito, corporate vice president for marketing and sales in Japan-ASEAN and is effective starting December 1, 2020.
Prior to his position, he worked for Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation, and is responsible for managing automotive companies based in US, Germany, and Slovakia. He later joined Nissan in 2014 as managing director for Nissan North Africa and Egypt, and later on as president director for Nissan Motor Indonesia.
Yutaka Sanada (center of banner picture) is promoted as Nissan’s corporate vice president for corporate strategy and special projects, and will report to Hideaki Watanabe, senior vice president for corporate strategy, new mobility, corporate governance, corporate management, board of directors office. Sanada joined Nissan in 1999 and has held various positions concerning logistics, sales and marketing, production and supply chain management. More recently, he was Nissan’s regional senior vice president and head of Asia & Oceania (A&O) operations.
“Sanada has been instrumental in strengthening the Asia & Oceania region and in driving a focused strategy. He has created a strong, customer-focused organization that makes us well-positioned to tap into new opportunities. In his new role, Sanada’s deep understanding of the business will further support the execution of the Nissan NEXT transformation plan,” said Ashwani Gupta, chief operating officer at Nissan.
Former corporate vice president for Nissan Japan business Yukio Ito (right of banner picture) has been promoted as Nissan corporate vice president marketing and sales for the Japan-ASEAN region, and will report to Asako Hoshino, executive vice president for brand champion, global marketing and sales, global customer experience, MC chairperson for Nissan Japan-ASEAN.
Sanada and Ito’s appointments are effective by January 1, 2021.
The senior management shuffle is part of Nissan NEXT, the company’s corporate revamp, including new car models and market realignment to four key regions: Japan-ASEAN, China, Americas and AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe & Oceania).
