Nissan has announced changes to its senior leadership with the appointments of Joni Paiva as Regional Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Africa, Middle East, and India, and Thierry Sabbagh as Managing Director of Nissan Middle East. Peyman Kargar, Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Chairman of the Management Committee for Africa, Middle East, and India, commented, “Nissan aims to double its presence in Africa, the Middle East, and India over the course of our midterm plan to 2022. We are pleased to welcome Joni from Nissan Canada to the region to lead our regional AMI business, and congratulate Thierry on his new role within the organization to lead our Middle East operations. They both bring vast knowledge of the automotive industry with a commendable track record of success. We are confident that their strategic expertise and skills will add immense value to our drive for growth in the region.”

Joni Paiva has over 20 years of collective experience within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, most recently in Nissan Canada as President overseeing Nissan operations including Sales and Marketing, Finance, Dealer Network, Product and Corporate Planning, Aftersales and the Captive Sales finance company. Paiva, reporting to Peyman Kargar, AMI SVP & Chairman, succeeds Sivagnanam Kalyana (Shivi), who has transferred to the UK as Managing Director, Nissan Motor Great Britain.

Sabbagh brings more than 15 years of experience in the automotive industry in the Middle East. Having previously been the Sales Director at Nissan Middle East, he joined Nissan from Ford Middle East, where he led the subsidiary as Managing Director. Sabbagh, who has gained wide experience with manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz and Cadillac, succeeds Juergen Schmitz who decided to leave Nissan after 11 years to pursue other opportunities.

Both Paiva and Sabbagh will be based in the Nissan Middle East office in Dubai, UAE.