Report: Nissan Cuts CEO Field to 3 Candidates

Nissan Motor Co. is focusing on three candidates to take over as CEO, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.

The company’s board of directors hopes to make a selection at its next meeting in early October.

Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s most recent CEO, was forced to resign last week over the company’s sagging performance and his connection to alleged financial wrongdoing by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The Journal says the three leading candidates to replace Saikawa are:

• Ashwani Gupta, 58, a former Renault official who currently is COO of Nissan affiliate Mitsubishi Motors
• Takeshi Niinami, 60, CEO of Japanese beverage company Suntory Holdings
• Jun Seki, 58, the Nissan executive who has been leading Nissan’s restructuring efforts since Ghosn’s arrest last November

The newspaper’s sources say Nissan’s board is looking for an executive with international experience, a sterling reputation in Japan’s business community and no entanglement in the company’s internal turmoil.