Nissan Motor Co Ltd chief executive Hiroto Saikawa has emerged as the company’s public face after the board removed Carlos Ghosn as chairman following his arrest in Japan on financial misconduct allegations.
The board’s move has drawn attention to Saikawa’s reputation inside Nissan as a demanding manager who is said to value compliance and results. Company insiders described him as exacting and unafraid to challenge senior figures when he believes business standards are being ignored.
Nissan has accused Ghosn of using company money for personal purposes and under-reporting income. Tokyo prosecutors suspect he reported only about half of roughly $88 million in earnings over a five-year period.
Saikawa became chief executive in 2017 after being groomed for the role by Ghosn. He now has to steer Nissan through legal scrutiny, reputational damage and questions over whether the arrest exposed deeper tensions within the Renault-Nissan alliance.
One Nissan executive said Saikawa was “very strong and aggressive,” while another said he was “very much ‘by the book’.” The same executive said Saikawa keeps separate phones for work and personal use and does not use a company phone to call his family.
Those traits may matter as Nissan deals with the fallout from last year’s inspection scandal in Japan, when the automaker faced criticism over improper domestic inspection procedures. An executive said that experience would have made Saikawa even more cautious about the allegations involving Ghosn.
At Monday’s news conference explaining the arrest, Saikawa answered questions for nearly 90 minutes in a calm and measured manner, drawing praise online. A former Nissan executive said his refusal to bow in apology suggested he was signaling that he was not personally at fault.
Saikawa also criticized Ghosn’s leadership, saying too much power had been concentrated at the top and that some decisions had been made without enough input. By Tuesday, however, two people who attended a meeting with department chiefs said he appeared visibly shaken, with one saying he looked as if he had tears in his eyes.
For years, Saikawa worked in Ghosn’s shadow. Ghosn, known as the “Cost Killer,” was credited with rescuing Nissan by closing five plants and cutting 21,000 jobs, moves that transformed the automaker and made him one of the industry’s most celebrated figures.
Now Saikawa must manage the company through a more uncertain period. Analysts have long seen Ghosn as the key figure holding together the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Motors Corp alliance, and some doubt whether Renault, Nissan’s biggest shareholder with a 43.4 percent stake, will support the company’s next steps.
Takeshi Miyao, managing director of consultancy Carnorama, said the challenge for Saikawa would be severe. He noted that while Saikawa has served on Renault’s board for 10 years, he lacks Ghosn’s experience with the French government and his long record at Renault and Michelin.
Still, Miyao said Saikawa is a tough negotiator and would not have been chosen by Ghosn unless he had the necessary resolve. Saikawa, 65, joined Nissan from Tokyo University more than 40 years ago and has spent much of his career in purchasing, supply chains and cost reduction. He also helped negotiate Mitsubishi Motors’ entry into the alliance and led efforts from 2013 to 2016 to cut manufacturing costs.
Reuters said it could not reach Ghosn or his lawyer for comment. Nissan declined to comment on the executives’ descriptions of Saikawa, and Saikawa could not be reached for comment.
