Nissan Motor Co. has named George Leondis chief financial officer. The long-serving Nissan executive will succeed Jérémie Papin, who is stepping down from his position after 16 months in the role for personal reasons, effective April 1.
An accountant by training, Leondis, 56, began his career at PwC before joining Nissan in 2004 as head of finance for Nissan Australia, the automaker said in a news release. Over the past two decades, he has held senior finance and leadership roles across Nissan’s key markets in addition to leading auto sales finance businesses and regional administration.
In 2024, Leondis returned to Japan to lead global product and industrial operations control, partnership finance, and M&A. He served most recently as senior vice president, administration and finance for Nissan in Europe.
Papin will remain with the company through mid-May to lead the closing of FY25 and to ensure a smooth and orderly transition, the release said.
Ivan Espinosa, president and CEO of Nissan, said: “I want to thank Jérémie for his leadership and for the discipline he helped embed during an important phase of our recovery. He has played a key role in strengthening our financial foundation. Re:Nissan remains firmly on track, and with George’s deep involvement in the plan, we will ensure a smooth transition and continued execution.”
The Nissan release summed that priorities and commitments of the company remain unchanged.
Nissan reported a net loss of nearly $1.5 billion in the first half of FY2025. In its Nov. 6 earnings report, the company pointed to lower income, impairments and restructuring costs leading to an operating profit loss of 27.7 billion yen ($180.7 million) for the period — a $430 million decline from the same period a year earlier.
