Nissan poaches General Motors veteran Joseph Peter as CFO
By Andrew C., 27 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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General Motors veteran Joseph Peter will soon replace Alain Dassas as Nissan Motor Co.'s new CFO.
Currently, Peter is vice president and CFO of international operations at General Motors Co. in Shanghai .
Meanwhile, Dassas, who was sent to Nissan from its French partner Renault SA in 2007, will move back to France and will be assigned special projects for the alliance. Nissan spokesman Alan Buddendeck said Dassas departed for family reasons.
For 24 years, Dassas had been at Renault before moving to Japan to help President Carlos Ghosn run Nissan. He returns to France on Dec. 1.
Peter will be brought in from a rival company to inject fresh energy into Nissan and to get a "unique perspective," according to Buddenduck.
Of course he'd be comfortable with this. He himself was hired away from Motorola Inc. to lead Nissan's North American public affairs department in Nashville.
Earlier this year, he was promoted to head of global communication at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama.
Considered one of Nissan's most notable outside picks is Shiro Nakamura, a noted designer from Isuzu Motors Ltd. whom Ghosn wooed away to revitalize Nissan's styling.
On October 19, Peter will join Nissan and start as CFO the day Dassas leaves. After having spent 25 years at GM, he will now be based in Yokohama , Japan .
Peter reports directly to Ghosn.
Last July, Peter was appointed CFO of GM's new international division, created after the company's emergence from bankruptcy to replace the old regional structure. The division is responsible for all operations outside North America. [via autonews]
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