Hassan to retire as Nissan senior VP
He will be replaced by Dan Gaudette, Nissan announced Friday.
“Emil has played a vital role in Nissan’s swift return to profitability,” Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co., said in a prepared statement. “He has made greatly needed changes in the North American purchasing organization and led the effort to quickly expand Nissan’s manufacturing capacity in the U.S. and Mexico.”
After retiring, Hassan said he will continue to work as an adviser to Ghosn and will serve as chairman and CEO of Distribution and Auto Service, a Nissan affiliate company.
“I’ve had a rewarding career and I’m fortunate to have had the support of an excellent team,” Hassan said. “It has been gratifying to see Nissan go from its deathbed to become the company with the highest operating margin among the major automotive companies in the world.”
Nissan has rebounded from near-bankruptcy under an alliance begun in 1999 with Renault SA of France, which now owns 44.3 percent of the company.
Gaudette, now senior vice president for U.S. manufacturing, will become senior vice president for North American manufacturing and quality assurance.
In his new position, Gaudette will oversee Nissan’s manufacturing operations in Mexico and the United States. He also will be responsible for quality assurance for all vehicles built in North America.
Hassan joined Nissan in 1981, overseeing the design and launch of the paint operations at the plant in Smyrna, a Nashville suburb. He was promoted to his current position of in 2000.
Nissan also announced Greg Daniels, now vice president for manufacturing becomes senior vice president for U.S. manufacturing; Shinichi Wada is named vice president for corporate quality assurance; and Shoukei Kimura is named vice president for manufacturing engineering and new vehicle programs.
Nissan also has an engine manufacturing plant in Decherd and an assembly plant in Canton, Miss.
In January, Ghosn told reporters the company’s projected growth probably will require it to expand existing plants, add production capacity to its operations in Mexico or build a new plant.
In January, Nissan said its U.S. sales grew 7.4 percent in 2003, from 739,525 vehicles in 2002 to 794,481 last year. Its U.S. market share rose from 4.4 percent in 2002 to 4.8 percent in 2003.
However, Nissan is a distant third in U.S. market share behind rivals Toyota Motor Corp. (11.2 percent) and Honda Motor Co. (8.1 percent). But analysts say Nissan’s prospects for continued growth are good.
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