Nissan Motor Management Reshuffle, Appoints New Head of Europe Region

According to foreign media reports, Nissan has promoted transformation expert Massimiliano Messina to oversee its AMIEO regional business as part of a management reshuffle aimed at supporting its revival plan. The AMIEO region covers Africa, the Middle East, India, and Oceania. Nissan stated that the AMIEO region encompasses 140 countries, with the company selling 26 different models and operating 5 factories, employing a total of 13,000 staff in the region.

2026 model year Leaf; Image source: Nissan Motor.

Massimiliano Messina, 54, currently serves as the Head of Finance and Strategy for the AMIEO market and will succeed Guillaume Cartier on October 1. Guillaume Cartier will thereafter focus full-time on his role as Nissan's Chief Performance Officer globally.

Guillaume Cartier stated in a statement: "As we drive transformation across all business areas, the leadership and operational expertise of Massimiliano Messina are crucial for Nissan's operations in the highly diverse AMIEO region."

Massimiliano Messina previously served as the Head of Transformation at KPMG UK before joining Nissan in 2022. Earlier in his career, he worked at PwC and Bain & Company. From 2012 to 2015, Massimiliano Messina held the position of Chief Financial Officer for the European divisions of Chevrolet and Cadillac, both brands under General Motors.

At the same time, Nissan has appointed Vito Esnaola as the Head of Finance and Information Technology for the AMIEO region. The 52-year-old Vito Esnaola joined Nissan in Spain in 2015 and is currently the General Manager of the company's finance department.

In April this year, Nissan's CEO Ivan Espinosa announced a comprehensive restructuring plan, which includes cutting approximately 15% of Nissan's workforce, reducing global production capacity by nearly 30% from current levels to 2.5 million units, and decreasing the number of production facilities from 17 to 10.

To advance Ivan Espinosa's recovery plan, Nissan has been streamlining its European operations, including layoffs. Currently, Nissan is in discussions with employee representatives regarding layoffs at its European regional office in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, which has approximately 560 employees.

Nissan plans to lay off workers at its only European factory in Sunderland, UK. It is worth noting that the factory is set to begin production of the new Leaf electric vehicle, which is crucial for the company's transformation.