Ashwani Gupta, Arun Bajaj in new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance leadership appointments

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi today announced that they have met with the necessary employee representative groups for the convergence projects unveiled on March 1. The management organisation will be effective from April 1, 2018.  

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Alliance said, “We are announcing the Alliance teams who will implement the next stage of convergence. Through incremental revenues, cost savings and cost-avoidance measures they will contribute to double annual synergies to more than 10 billion euros by the end of Alliance 2022, up from 5 billion euros in 2016.”

Today’s announcement is another step towards turbo-charging the performance and growth of the Alliance member companies while preserving the autonomy and distinct strategies of Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors. Each of the nine Alliance leaders named below will report to Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Alliance.

Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Alliance Executive Vice President, Engineering 
The function will manage all engineering activities, especially product development. It will ensure competitive delivery of technologies and capability transformation, with common decision-making that avoids duplication and divergence. It will enhance engineering delivery and efficiency through common KPIs, processes, standards, methods and tools.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Engineering team led by Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi:

- Gaspar Gascon, Deputy Alliance Executive Vice President, Engineering
- Takao Asami, Alliance Senior Vice President, Research and Advanced Engineering
- Philippe Brunet, Alliance Senior Vice President, Powertrain and EV Engineering
- Christian Steyer, Alliance Senior Vice President, Product Development 1
- Kunio Nakaguro, Alliance Senior Vice President, Product Development 2
- Alexandre Corjon, Alliance Global Vice President, EE and systems Engineering
- Karim Mikkiche, Alliance Global Vice President, Transformation and Performance Office
- Hiroshi Nagaoka, Alliance Global Vice President, Customer Performance and CAE / Test Engineering
- Akihiro Otomo, Alliance Global Vice President, Platform and Vehicle Component Engineering

John Martin, Alliance Executive Vice President, Manufacturing, Production Engineering and Supply Chain Management (SCM)
The function leads the Manufacturing, Production Engineering and SCM convergence. It is responsible for maximizing synergies through delivery and efficiency improvements, full utilization of Alliance assets, and by optimizing the management of capital expenditure and the manufacturing footprint of the Alliance member companies.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Manufacturing, Production Engineering and Supply Chain Management team led by John Martin:

- Jose Vicente de Los Mozos, Deputy Alliance Executive VP, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Operations 1
- Hideyuki Sakamoto, Deputy Alliance Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Operations 2
- Jun Seki, Alliance Senior Vice President, Production Engineering
- Mark Sutcliffe, Alliance Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Management and Industrial Strategy
- Colin Lawther, Alliance Regional Senior Vice President, MFG Transition TQM, PMO, TdC

Véronique Sarlat Depotte, Alliance Executive Vice President, Purchasing and Alliance Purchasing Organization Chairman and Managing Director 
The function comprises a single team to manage purchasing activities of the Alliance member companies. It is responsible for selection and management of the best supply-base for the Alliance. It will leverage Alliance suppliers’ growth and volumes to secure each brand’s sustainable competitiveness. The function will actively contribute to Alliance strategy definition and implementation for Overall Opinion (OaO) and technology breakthroughs.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Alliance Purchasing Organization team led by Véronique Sarlat Depotte:

- Shohei Yamazaki, Alliance Global Vice President, Purchasing and Deputy Managing Director of Alliance Purchasing Organization
- Yukihiro Hattori, Alliance Global Vice President, Purchasing and Deputy Managing Director of Alliance Purchasing Organization

Christian Vandenhende, Alliance Executive Vice President, Quality and Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS)
The function will develop a common Quality Strategy, recommending measures to harmonize the processes for quality assurance in projects developed by Alliance engineering. It aims to improve OaO in all markets and secure Customer Satisfaction in Products and Services. The function will also aim to mitigate risks and reduce non-quality costs through common KPIs, processes, methods, standards, tools and audits.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Quality and TCS team led by Christian Vandenhende:

- Arnaud Bouthenet, Alliance Global Vice President, Quality and TCS Strategy
- Hidenobu Miyagi, Alliance Global Director, Quality and TCS Audits

Kent O’Hara, Alliance Senior Vice President, Aftersales
The function leads the adoption of common data-management systems, customer-relationship management best practices and economies of scale in parts logistics, inventories and purchasing. As part of Alliance 2022, the member companies are targeting increased synergies and cooperation in Aftersales activities such as accessories, parts, engineering, purchasing and connected services.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Aftersales team led by Kent O’Hara:

- Hakan Dogu, Alliance Global Vice President and Deputy Managing Director, Aftersales
- Pietro Berardi, Alliance Regional Vice President, All Parts

Hadi Zablit, Alliance Senior Vice President, Business Development
The function will focus on future activities and breakthrough innovation including the development of the Common Module Family A-segment platform, partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Alliance Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services, new technology and product planning synchronization and Alliance Ventures. It will also seek convergence in other activities including information management and digitalization as well as the customer experience.

Effective April 1, the following individuals will join the Business Development team led by Hadi Zablit:

- Ogi Redzic, Alliance Senior Vice President, Connected Vehicles  and Mobility Services
- Gérard Detourbet, Alliance Global Vice President, Breakthrough Innovations
- Jacques Verdonck, Alliance Global Vice President, Cooperation with Daimler Group and OEMs Partnerships
- François Dossa, Alliance Global Director, Alliance Ventures
- Nils Saclier, Alliance Global Director, Product and Technology Planning

Arun Bajaj, Alliance Senior Vice President, Talent
The function is responsible for ensuring that the Alliance identifies, attracts, develops and retains top leadership talent to drives business results today, as well as in the future. It does this by implementing a full complement of talent management strategies across the Alliance member companies.

Ashwani Gupta, Alliance Senior Vice President, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV Business
The function aims to expand light commercial vehicle (LCV) market leadership under a single business unit and boost sales by unleashing the full potential of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. This drives more synergies by having one business unit, while ensuring brand differentiation, maximizing cross-development and cross-manufacturing, technology sharing and cost reduction.

Arnaud Deboeuf, Alliance Senior Vice President, CEO Office.
The function is responsible for strengthening and deepening the cooperation within the Alliance in order to accelerate each partner’s performance and efficiency. It manages and promotes the convergence through the governance bodies of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi: Alliance Operation Committee and Alliance Strategic Committee. The function is charged with accelerating synergies and best practices in other functions and study new fields of convergence.

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. Together, the partners sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng.