Be fast and flexible

If you have just assumed the senior position, the new CEO of Nissan Ivan Espinoza has some advice for you.

Espinoza enters the role at a turbulent time for the global auto industry – with the slowing of EV sales, the intensification of competition from China, and the new profits definitions.

“Keep optimism, because the environment is very difficult, and you don’t want to overwhelm it,” Espinoza told CNBC on Wednesday. “If you are overwhelmed, you can paralyze – and paralysis is not what you need in the current environment. You need to continue to move.”

Not only is the automotive world. Through the sectors, the executive presidents are under pressure to mobility in geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological change. Many did not continue the course.

American CEO flights increased by 38 % in December alone, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which was published in January this year. Throughout 2024, standard 2221 executives resigned – the highest number since the tracking began in 2002.

Espinoza believes that the modern CEO needs a different mental leadership. ))

With the transformation of the industry, as well as its leadership style. “There is a lot of cooperation.” “We are facing more open discussions about what we can do together. Context is unique – political geography, and the chain of supply chain – and sometimes it cannot go alone.”

While last year witnessed a record number of the executive director, but he was also introduced into a new wave of leadership. from Boeing and Starbucks to Stelantis and NikeA new category of executives entering the spotlight – and in some of the most difficult working conditions in modern memory.

These leaders take control amid global uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rapid progress in artificial intelligence. Add that the increasing risks of cybersecurity threats and the supply chain disrupted, and the job description of the modern executive seems to be more required than ever.

Espinoza Nissan, He took over in AprilThis made him the fourth CEO of the company in eight years. He has a lot of experience in the Japanese auto giant, as he has been working since 2003, and he took his first role as a producer in the company’s Mexico’s department, followed by positions in Thailand and Japan.

Despite his extensive experience, Espinoza now has a difficult summary: he turned to a decrease in sales and pays intense competition from Chinese car manufacturers.

“We need to move quickly,” Espinosa told CNBC. “We need to make decisions immediately. You need to be comfortable in making decisions even when you don’t have 100 % of the available information,” Espinosa told CNBC. “It is better to move and then correct the path from just sitting and waiting.”

Soon after the first job, Espinoza revealed plans to reduce 11,000 jobs and close seven factories as part of a major restructuring batch. But in addition to cost discounts, he focused on building a coherent leadership team.

“What you cannot tolerate in a very complex day position is to have a team that does not have the same goals and does not share the same goals,” he said.