Nissan Announces Senior Leadership Appointments in Americas

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nissan Americas today announced senior leadership changes intended to foster further integration of its quality and manufacturing activities across the region and enhance the application of market and consumer intelligence in its business processes. The following appointments are effective immediately:

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• Brad Thacker, currently vice president, Business Transformation and Corporate Services, is named vice president, Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS).  He will be responsible for ensuring complete satisfaction among Nissan and Infiniti owners across the Americas region, which includes Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and 37 additional markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.  His responsibilities will also include Nissan's Product Safety department.  Thacker, 44, joined Nissan in August 2005 as director, Product Quality Assurance, from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc., where he held responsibilities in manufacturing and quality.  He has a bachelor's degree in economics from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C.

• Kevin Martin, currently vice president, TCS, is named to the newly created position of vice president, Manufacturing Quality.  In this role he will be responsible for ensuring the company's focus on product quality across its entire range of cars, trucks and commercial vehicles – including supplier and manufacturing quality. Martin, 48, joined Nissan in August 2006 as director, TCS, from Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America where he held a number of management positions.  He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Western Carolina University.

• Dave Mazur, currently vice president, Market Intelligence, is named to the newly created position of vice president, Market Intelligence, Business Transformation & Corporate Services.  He will be responsible for Nissan's market and consumer research efforts in the Americas as well as the company's structured problem-solving and business process improvement efforts.  He also takes on oversight of the company's security operations and facilities management.  Mazur, 52, joined Nissan in December 2006 from General Motors where he served as executive director, North America Advanced Vehicle Development and Portfolio Planning.  He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard.

• Mark Swenson, currently vice president, Vehicle Production & Manufacturing Engineering, is named vice president, Vehicle Production, Manufacturing Engineering & Component Facilities.  His current responsibilities include managing Nissan's manufacturing engineering activities in Smyrna, Tenn., Canton, Miss., and Cuernavaca and Aguascalientes, Mexico and overseeing production engineering efforts at the Nissan Technical Center North America in Farmington Hills, Mich.  In his newly expanded role Swenson will additionally be responsible for Nissan's component production in the U.S., including its powertrain plant in Decherd, Tenn., and its advanced lithium-ion battery production facility now under construction in Smyrna, Tenn.  Swenson, 44, joined Nissan in 1989 as a product engineer and since then has progressed through a series of management positions in body and stamping engineering and manufacturing.  He holds a bachelor's of science degree from Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn.

"These changes reflect the importance that quality and the voice of the customer will play as we expand Nissan's product portfolio and presence throughout the Americas region," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas.  "With newly defined roles these executives and their respective teams will be able to sharpen our focus on specific aspects of quality and production to drive region-wide results.  At the same time, Dave's oversight of both market intelligence and our regional business processes will help us more directly translate what we hear from customers into actionable improvement plans, which is critical in an increasingly competitive market environment."

In their new assignments, Thacker, Martin and Swenson will report to Bill Krueger, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Supply Chain Management and Total Customer Satisfaction, Nissan Americas.  Mazur will report to Scott Becker, senior vice president, Administration & Finance, Nissan Americas.  

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.  Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America, the Nissan LEAF and zero emissions can be found at www.nissanusa.com.

SOURCE Nissan North America

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