Dive Brief:
- Nissan appointed Lesley Ma as its VP of IT for Nissan Americas, the company said Wednesday. Ma will report to Mark Kaczynski, regional SVP, finance and IT, Nissan Americas, effective April 7.
- The executive will replace Nissan Americas CIO William Orange, who will retire after nearly 13 years at the automotive company. Kaczynski said Orange was integral to the IT leadership team.
- Ma most recently served as VP and CTO of public health and safety organization NSF International. Prior, she held several leadership roles at General Motors and spent eight years at Ford.
Dive Insight:
Companies in the automotive sector are leaning on technology leaders to fuel innovation and contribute to the bottom line. General Motors appointed its first chief AI officer earlier this month to guide its deployment efforts. In January, retailer Advance Auto Parts brought in a new CTO.
The tech leadership shifts at Nissan's Americas division come just weeks after the announcement of a broader executive overhaul at the global auto company.
On March 11, the company announced CEO Makoto Uchida would step down, effective April 1, in the aftermath of failed merger talks between Nissan and Honda. The company appointed Chief Planning Officer Ivan Espinosa, a Nissan veteran, to take over the CEO role.
In addition to the CEO change, Nissan announced a new executive committee, including several C-suite leaders who will report directly to Espinosa.
"I believe that Nissan has so much more potential than what we are seeing today," Espinosa said during a March 11 press conference. "I'm looking forward to [building] on the efforts of those who have come before me, and working closely with our talented team worldwide to bring stability and growth back to the company."
Nissan did not immediately disclose specific projects Ma will take on as part of her role in the Americas division, but Kaczynski said "her leadership will bring positive results and drive our future success,” in the Wednesday announcement.
