Nissan aims to nominate new chairman by around Dec 20: source

Tokyo: Nissan Motor Co aims to nominate a new chairman within a month or two, hopefully before its next board meeting slated for around December 20, a source familiar with the matter said, after the automaker ousted Carlos Ghosn as chairman on Thursday.

The nomination will be done by the Japanese automaker’s newly created advisory committee that includes the company’s three independent directors.

The new chairman would hold the post “at least” until Nissan’s next shareholder meeting. No decision on whether to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting has been made, the source added. The next regular meeting is expected in June 2019.

Another special committee led by the independent directors to discuss improving governance based on third-party advice will then likely propose setting up a nomination committee to select a permanent chairman, said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“It’s a two stage process,” the source said. “First we have to decide on a temporary chairman as soon as possible.”

Nissan was not immediately available for comment on Friday, a public holiday in Japan. Nissan’s board voted unanimously to oust Ghosn, who was arrested on Monday over allegations of financial misconduct including under-reporting of his remuneration and personal use of company assets.