NISSAN has appointed Peyman Kargar as Senior Vice President and Chairman of its Africa, Middle East, and India region (AMI), effective from April 1, 2017.

Likewise, Nissan has named Kalyana Sivagnanam has joined Nissan as Regional Vice President, Marketing and Sales, for Africa, the Middle East and India. He will also be President of Nissan Middle East.

The appointments come as the region becomes increasingly significant for Nissan’s global business.

Kargar will lead the regional management committee and be responsible for business strategy and performance for both the Nissan and Datsun brands with all functional heads reporting to him.

Kargar, 49, joined Nissan from its Alliance partner Renault, where he has worked since 1996 in a number of senior management posts spanning engineering, quality, service, projects and aftersales.

His most recent position was as Renault’s Vice President Sales & Marketing, Africa, the Middle East and India since 2014. Peyman effectively established the new region for Renault and gained extensive market knowledge through working in over 50 countries.

Since 2010 he has also been responsible for expanding Renault’s business in the Middle East as Managing Director for the Renault Group in Iran, where he oversaw a trebling of sales volume. His scope was enlarged considerably in 2012 when he was promoted to Managing Director Middle East Operations, responsible for all industrial and commercial activities across 13 countries.

Kargar began his career in 1992 as an engineer working for UK-based Amjet Company after graduating from INSA engineering school in Lyon and London Business School, where he gained his MBA.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I am delighted to join Nissan at what is an exciting time for the region. A strong foundation has already been laid in terms of compelling products, strengthening brand and expanding industrial presence and I’m looking forward to building on this in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, Shivi will oversee all Marketing and Sales in the Africa, Middle East and India region. He will also assume overall responsibility for Nissan’s business in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Shivi, who is an MBA graduate from the UK, said: “I am delighted to join Nissan and look forward to building on the company’s success in Africa, the Middle East and India.

“This region includes some the fastest-growing, most promising economies in the world. Nissan is committed to offering our customers the best cars and customer service whether they are a first-time car-owner buying a Datsun redi-GO in India, or the latest generation of their family to purchase a Nissan Patrol in the Middle East.”

Shivi has more than 18 years of experience in the automotive industry. He has joined Nissan from Ford where he led the development of the Lincoln and Ford brands in the Middle East and Africa as Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service. Previously he was a Regional Director for Ford in Europe where he was instrumental in turning around the performance of the Northern Region – from worst to best – in eighteen months.

“Shivi brings to Nissan a deep knowledge of Africa, the Middle East and India and a strong track record of success,” said Jose Munoz, Nissan’s Chief Performance Officer. “The region is becoming increasingly important to Nissan, and we are focusing on offering vehicles even more closely tailored to the needs of our customers in these markets.”

Nissan’s global Chief Performance Officer, Jose Munoz, said: “The AMI region is poised for significant and sustained, long-term growth and is becoming an increasingly important market for Nissan. Peyman brings with him a wealth of senior experience from this part of the world with our Alliance partner Renault, which will be vital in continuing to drive our business forward by meeting the needs of an expanding and evolving customer base.” — SG