In the wake of the Ghosn saga, which exposed the company’s shortcomings when it came to policing executive pay, Nissan drew a line in the sand
International News: Hiroto Saikawa’s tone bordered on defiant Sunday when discussing his future as chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co. He accepted responsibility for the Carlos Ghosn scandals and said he’d resign after a successor was found, but he wasn’t taking the fall for a burgeoning controversy over his pay.
That strategy blew up 24 hours later when the embattled carmaker’s board pushed him out –- citing his excess compensation. Saikawa’s last day will be September 16, and the board is taking a look at a pool of about 10 candidates for the job.
The end of Saikawa’s four-decade career came in a conference room at Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Tokyo, where board members met for more than five hours –- with some joining by video from overseas, according to people familiar with the matter. Nissan declined to comment on board discussions and declined to make Saikawa available for comment.
Alliance partner Renault SA was represented by Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollore. During the meeting, directors said they weren’t happy with the slow progress in finding Saikawa’s replacement, and voiced they wanted that process to be accelerated, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Saikawa said at press conference in January that he would “pass the baton” to new leaders as soon as possible….
