Nissan board gains shareholder backing, must tackle surveillance claims

[June 27, 2023]  By Maki Shiraki and Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan shareholders re-elected its chief executive and other board nominees on Tuesday at an annual meeting that came days after revelations of a split among senior management and allegations of corporate surveillance.

The Japanese automaker is investigating accusations that CEO Makoto Uchida carried out surveillance of his deputy Ashwani Gupta, Reuters has reported. The turmoil recalls the period that led up to and followed the ouster of former head Carlos Ghosn, fanning concerns in-fighting could distract management from a badly needed turnaround.

The shareholder meeting was the first since Nissan reached a new deal with alliance partner Renault, negotiations about which deepened tension between Uchida, who has pushed for the deal and Gupta, who had reservations about some terms, sources have said.

The surveillance accusations were made in a letter to independent directors by a senior Nissan adviser and will need to be addressed by the new board. There were no questions by shareholders about the claims at the shareholder meeting. Details about the letter were only published on Saturday.

Christopher Richter, deputy head of research at brokerage CLSA, said the discord at the top and the drawn-out talks about the Renault alliance have distracted management from the primary business of making and selling cars.

"It feels like they are stuck on neutral while a lot of their key competitors are pushing the accelerator pedal to the metal," he said, noting that rival Toyota was making big announcements about EVs and solid-state batteries.

Nissan and Renault have yet to finalise the terms of the deal announced in February under which Nissan would take a stake of up to 15% in the electric vehicle unit Renault is spinning off, and Renault would reduce its 43% stake in Nissan.

Gupta, who was chief operating officer (COO) and was seen as a likely future CEO, did attend the shareholder meeting though Tuesday was his last day at the company. News in May that he would not be nominated for another board term had come as a shock to investors. His departure was announced last week.

CEO of Nissan Makoto Uchida and CEO of Renault Luca de Meo attend a news conference to unveil new agreement between Nissan and Renault in London, Britain February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

When a shareholder asked how Gupta viewed his time at Nissan, Uchida answered by saying the executive had contributed greatly to projects starting with the formulation of a mid-term plan. Gupta did not reply to the question.

The company did not name a new COO to replace Gupta when it announced its executive line-up on Tuesday. Other key positions remain unchanged.

The meeting also highlighted shareholder frustration over Nissan's share price, prompting an apology from Uchida that the price is lower than in the past.

Nissan's shares have returned 1.4% including dividends in the last year, versus 25% for the benchmark Nikkei 225.

The support from shareholders for the 10 board nominees, including IBM veteran Brenda Harvey as an outside director, was widely expected given the strength of support for management among Japan's individual investors.

Shareholders on Tuesday also rejected a proposal by an individual investor for higher dividends this financial year that was opposed by the board.

The meeting was restricted to shareholders. Reuters monitored a webcast provided for investors who did not attend in person.

(Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Daniel Leussink; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, David Dolan and Edwina Gibbs)

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