- Nissan’s CEO is resigning, the Japanese automaker said Monday.
- Hiroto Saikawa acknowledged last week that he took more equity-linked pay from the company than he was entitled to, Bloomberg reported, but said he was previously unaware of the overpayment.
- Saikawa was the handpicked successor to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s disgraced former chairman who is facing financial-misconduct charges in Tokyo.
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Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s embattled chief executive, is resigning, the company said Monday, after it was revealed that he took more pay than he was entitled to.
His exit, effective next Monday, comes after months of turmoil at the Japanese automaker following the arrest last year of its chairman Carlos Ghosn, who handpicked Saikawa as his successor, Bloomberg News reported.
“Nissan’s Nomination Committee will accelerate its efforts to select a successor for the CEO position, with the goal of concluding the search by the end of October,” the company said in a press release. The company’s chief operating officer, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, will serve as interim CEO.
Nissan has been rattled by charges against Ghosn, a drama that first unfolded November 19 with his arrest in Tokyo on accusations of illegal financial dealing. At the time, Ghosn, who stepped down as chairman, was also serving as the CEO of Renault and overseeing an alliance between the two companies and Mitsubishi.
In the months since, Nissan has announced plans to slash 9% of its workforce amid falling profits. The Japanese automaker's operating profit tumbled to $15 million in the second quarter of 2019.
Shares of Nissan's stock rose about 2% in early trading Monday following the announcement of Saikawa's imminent departure.