Nissan pushes for foreign executive majority by 2016

Posted by Bob On Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Nissan Motor Co. plans to fill the majority of its top-ranking posts with non-Japanese by the end of fiscal 2016, according to sources.

Non-Japanese officials, such as directors and presidents of overseas units, currently account for 44 people of Nissan’s 100 executives. The automaker intends to hire talented local people at its overseas units to accelerate its global advancement strategy, the sources said.

Domestic companies seldom allow a majority of executive positions to be occupied by non-Japanese. Industry observers have pointed out that other Japanese companies could follow Nissan’s lead.

Currently, four out of nine Nissan directors at its headquarters are not Japanese, and nearly three-quarters of executive positions at its overseas subsidiaries have been filled with non-Japanese.

At Nissan, it is mandatory that English is spoken at meetings if at least one non-Japanese person is in attendance.

The nation’s second-largest automaker has also introduced a personnel management system in which employees are promoted and paid based on ability and performance, regardless of nationality.

The automaker has drawn up a midterm management plan in which it aims to boost global sales from the current 4 million units annually to more than 7 million units by the end of fiscal 2016. The company apparently views more non-Japanese executives as essential to reaching this goal.

Yutaka Suzuki, chief economist at Daiwa Institute of Research, said: “Less than 5 percent of listed domestic companies have non-Japanese executives at their headquarters. Nissan’s move may increase employment [in other companies] of non-Japanese people [for executive posts].”

(Aug. 18, 2011)
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