Nissan has appointed Guillaume Cartier as Senior Vice President and Chairman of its Africa, Middle East, and India region (AMI) and Head of the Global Datsun Business Unit, effective from April 1st 2020.

In this role, he will lead the regional management committee and be responsible for business strategy and performance with all functional heads for the Nissan brand as well as assume the role of Head of Datsun globally.

Cartier, 51, re-joins Nissan from its Alliance partner Mitsubishi, where he served as Executive Officer and Senior Vice President, Mitsubishi Motors. Prior to that, he has held several senior positons with Nissan, which he first joined in 1995, including SVP Sales & Marketing for Nissan Europe in 2013.

With over 25 years serving at Nissan and Mitsubishi across multiple roles covering global and regional operations, Cartier brings a wealth of experience across marketing and sales and a keen focus on business transformation.

Nissan’s global Chief Operating Officer Ashwini Gupta commented on the appointment of Cartier saying: “The Africa, Middle East and India region continues to be significant for Nissan in terms of long term growth and potential market share. Cartier brings in a wealth of senior experience from this part of the world, having over 25 years at Nissan, and our alliance partner Mitsubishi, which will be vital in continuing to drive our business forward by meeting the needs of an expanding and evolving customer base.” 

 Commenting on his appointment, Cartier said: “I am delighted to take on the role of chairman for Africa, Middle East and India region and I look forward to working with our regional leadership to continue growing our presence across our markets. We have a strong positioning in terms of products, services and industrial foot print, as well as an opportunity to expand our Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM) platform and innovative approach to mobility solutions across the region.” 

“My appointment comes at a time of unprecedented change in our world today. We know these are challenging times for our industry as well as other sectors. This is when we must focus on what matters for us as a global company with a commitment to enrich people’s lives and ensure the health and wellbeing of our customers, business partners and employees.”

Cartier has an MBA form ESSEC Graduate School of Economics and Commerce University. He replaces Peyman Kargar who is taking up a strategic corporate role at Nissan following three years as AMI Chairman and global head of Datsun.