Nissan Motor CFO Stephen Ma is set to step down from his position, people with knowledge of the matter said, marking yet another executive change at a challenging time for the Japanese carmaker.
It’s not clear whether Ma may be demoted or leave the company, said one person, asking not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. The change, which comes 17 months after Ashwani Gupta left as Nissan’s chief operating officer, follows an announcement last month that it will eliminate 9,000 jobs and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
Stephen Ma, left, with CEO Makoto Uchida, in 2022
As a result, CEO Makoto Uchida will be left as the sole top-level C-suite executive at a time when Nissan has drawn the attention of one of the most influential activist investors in Japan, Effissimo Capital Management.
Although five years have passed since the dramatic arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, the carmaker remains mired in management upheaval.
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Ma declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for Nissan.
An outdated lineup, elevated spending on sales incentives and a lack of hybrids in North America have led the Japanese carmaker to slash jobs and production. Nissan now sees its operating income at JPY150 billion ($1.34 billion) for the fiscal year ending in March, down 70% from its prior forecast.
Ma joined Nissan in 1996 in North America and worked in financial roles in China and Japan before being promoted to CFO in December of 2019, alongside Uchida and Gupta.
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Jun Seki, who was also made co-COO at the time, departed quickly thereafter.
Nissan’s market capitalisation, which stands at about JPY1.5 trillion, has been shrinking since peaking at almost JPY6 trillion in 2015.
It’s now Japan’s fifth-largest carmaker as measured by market value after Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Suzuki Motor and Subaru.
Nissan announced last month that Guillaume Cartier would be promoted to chief performance officer as of Dec 1.
Photo: Bloomberg
