According to reports, Nissan directors are scheduled to meet on March 11 to hold talks over possible successors for CEO Makoto Uchida, whose position appears to be increasingly shaky amid the Japanese automaker's poor performance.
Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin and Chief Planning Officer Ivan Espinosa are among the candidates under consideration, although neither is regarded as a lock, particularly given their links to recent management blunders.
One way to give the board more time to identify a permanent replacement would be to appoint the next CEO as a transitional or temporary leader.
The breakdown of negotiations to merge with Honda has sparked rumors of an investment from Taiwan's Foxconn, where former Nissan CEO Jun Seki leads the electric car division, and Uchida's possible dismissal.
The collapse of negotiations to merge with Honda has sparked rumors of an investment from Taiwan's Foxconn, where former Nissan CEO Jun Seki leads the electric car division, and Uchida's possible dismissal.
Nissan's internal strife, which may result in the company's fourth CEO in less than six years, is the most recent development in a lengthy drama that was initiated by the removal of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018.
It also occurs at a time when Nissan's financial status is deteriorating and debt obligations are approaching, placing the company in a significantly more vulnerable position than it has ever been.
Nissan has employed temporary executives in the past. After Ghosn's replacement Hiroto Saikawa was fired in 2019, the carmaker appointed Yasuhiro Yamauchi, a veteran of the business, as interim CEO.
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According to Uchida, resolving the crisis at Japan's third-largest carmaker is the most important thing he can do before he is prepared to retire.