Crossing the Pond: Renault Executive to Head Nissan North America
Nissan Motor Company is moving senior vice president and chairman of Renault Eurasia, Denis Le Vot, westward to succeed Jose Munoz as president and chairman of Nissan North America. While Munoz will persist as the brand’s global chief performance officer, Le Vot will take over his regional duties.
A french native, Le Vot joined Renault in 1990 and soon moved up the ranks — eventually being appointed to the brand’s management committee in 2015 and AvtoVAZ’s board of directors the following year. The Nissan executive board in Yokohama, Japan, approved his new appointment in a meeting on Tuesday. However, the title doesn’t become official until January 16th.
It’s unclear how involved Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, was in the final decision, but the move smacks of his desire to cross-pollinate. In addition to pressing for shared platforms, Ghosn has repeatedly mentioned his desire to see corporate leadership mix between brands.
Automotive News reports that Munoz was involved in choosing Le Vot, settling on him after spending the last year hunting for a suitable replacement. He’ll continue to focus on growing Nissan and Infiniti as global brands, leaving the regional business concerns to the Frenchman.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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The French are coming, the French are coming!!
We don't want the damned executive, we want the A110.
He will probably be just as effective at Nissan North America as Renault is in breaking into the U.S. market. Owned three Nissans/Datsuns over the decades, and the fit for Renault/Nissan is perfect- both are POS !!!