Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigns over excess pay

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has resigned after the Board of Directors asked him to quit over a pay scandal. He accepted the recommendation and resigned.

Saikawa is expected to step down from his role on September 16, 2019, and Yasuhiro Yamauchi, Chief Operating Officer, will temporarily take the role of CEO. A permanent replacement is expected to be announced by the end of October 2019.

The 65-year-old has been accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of share option payments in 2013. Reports suggest that Hiroto Saikawa has admitted that he and other top Nissan executives were overpaid as part of a stock-related payment plan. He has denied any wrong-doing and could return all the extra funds. It is said that the extra payments were not illegal, but the program was intentionally manipulated to increase the amount of money that could be gained from it.

Source: BBC, CNN