At a Glance

  • Nissan Motor's Chief Financial Officer Jérémie Papin will step down for "personal reasons," just over a year after taking the role. The Japanese automaker announced the news in a press release on Tuesday. George Leondis, who has 20 years of experience at Nissan, will take over as CFO starting April 1.
  • On the same day, the Yokohama, Japan-based automaker also issued another press release and a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, announcing nominations for key board positions, including chairman and the chairs of the audit, compensation, and nomination committees. Nissan is expected to appoint Akiyoshi Koji as chairman and nominate Motoo Nagai as chair of the audit committee. These candidates will be formally nominated at Nissan's annual shareholders' meeting in June.
  • The CFO's departure comes as Nissan pushes forward with its "Re:Nissan" restructuring plan to cut costs. Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa said in the press release that Papin played a "key role in strengthening our financial foundation" and thanked him for "helping the company build discipline during this critical phase of our recovery."

In-Depth Analysis

Papin spent 15 years at Nissan and was promoted to the company's top financial position in January 2025, after serving as chairman of Nissan Americas for three years, according to his profile on the company's website.

His successor, Leondis, joined Nissan in 2004, initially as finance director at Nissan Australia, according to the press release.

Over more than two decades at Nissan, Leondis has held various roles, including regional finance head for Nissan Europe and Nissan AMIEO (covering Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, Russia, and Oceania), according to his LinkedIn profile. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK as a senior manager.

Leondis takes over the financial reins as Nissan continues to advance its "Re:Nissan" plan. Espinosa said in a statement that the plan "remains on track, and George has been deeply involved in it. We will ensure a smooth transition and continued execution."

Nissan announced the launch of this turnaround effort in May last year, following two years of financial challenges, with declines in both sales and profitability in fiscal 2024, according to a May press release.

To improve its financial position, Nissan has explored various avenues, including announcing 20,000 job cuts and plans to reduce its manufacturing plant count from 17 to 10, all part of the "Re:Nissan" strategy.

In addition to targeting profitability and positive cash flow by fiscal 2026, Nissan has set a goal of achieving total savings of 500 billion yen (approximately $3.1 billion) in fixed and variable costs compared to actual fiscal 2024 levels.

The company also explored a potential merger with Honda, but those talks ultimately ended in February last year. Earlier, Nissan restructured its long-standing alliance with French automaker Renault in 2023. In March last year, the two automakers agreed to further loosen this alliance (which also includes Mitsubishi) to enhance Nissan's financial flexibility, according to a Renault Group press release from March 2025.

During the fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings call on February 12, Papin said Nissan had made "strong progress" in its turnaround. The company now expects an operating loss of 60 billion yen for the full fiscal 2025 year, compared to a previously forecast operating loss of 275 billion yen, according to its earnings presentation materials.

Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.