Nissan 2014 Annual Report Download - page 17

Trevor Mann
Chief Performance Officer
“I’m the conduit to check that the Nissan machine is operating to maximum
efficiency. Each region must deliver on the strategy set at the center,” he says.
Each month, Mann visits two operating regions to check on performance.
The schedule means he tours the worldwide business every quarter. When
Mann arrives − this week it might be the Resende plant in Brazil, next week
Canadian sales operations in Toronto − there is usually something to fix. If the
problem is serious, he may bring his team of specialists, either from
headquarters or another part of the world, to ensure that each part of the
organization is working properly.
Part chief engineer, part organizational motivator: Mann relishes the
tension that his role creates. Those tensions, which he insists are positive,
intensified last year when Nissan replaced its far-flung three-region operating
structure with a six-region organization designed to impose greater
management focus on each market.
“When I am in the region I review, challenge and help manage the
performance of the whole business including sales and marketing functions
within the regions,” according to the CPO. “The leaders of the global functions
set the targets and strategic direction of our operations. But in the different
regions around the world, the execution of those functions and strategic
delivery is undertaken by our regional heads, whom I manage.”
The system is designed to ensure that Nissan delivers on its targets in a
range of areas, from manufacturing efficiency to sales and marketing, and
from product launches to dealer relations, supplier arrangements, pricing and
quality controls.
Under the old structure, regions composed of disparate territories were
overseen by executives who had other prime responsibilities. Management
resources may have been stretched too thin, leading to launch delays, quality
glitches, and insufficient cost control. Sometimes, manageable issues became
serious problems.
Mann vows to change that. As part of the reorganization announced in
November 2013, the CPO was entrusted with managing the new six-region
structure. Reporting to him are six dedicated regional chairmen, each one
responsible for multiple functions in their geographies − spanning R&D, plant
efficiency, purchasing, logistics, sales and marketing, and brand development.
There lies the tension: for managers in some of these functions must also
satisfy the demands of executives such as Chief Competitive Officer Hiroto
Saikawa or Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer when it comes to pricing and
market share. “I’m the tension between the regions and the function,” says
Mann. “It needs a coordinator, a disciplinarian who ensures that we
standardize best practice.”
Trevor Mann is the performance specialist at the heart of
Nissan. After almost a quarter of a century working in key
operations around the company, the Chief Performance
Officer (CPO) is utilizing that experience to drive a relentless
efficiency program in each of Nissan’s six global regions.
16
NISSAN MOTOR CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2014
EXECUTIVE PROFILE
CONTENTS
CORPORATE FACE TIME
PERFORMANCE
NISSAN POWER 88
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
CEO MESSAGE