Nissan taps 24-year veteran Kelly as first American board member

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story used the incorrect title for Renault's Carlos Tavares. He is COO.

Nissan Motor Co.said today that an American, Senior Vice President Greg Kelly, has been nominated for the company's board.

If elected at the Japanese automaker's annual meeting in June, Kelly would be the first American board member.

Nissan currently has four non-Japanese on its nine-member board: Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who is French and was born in Brazil; Jean-Baptiste Duzan, who is French; Nissan Executive Vice President Colin Dodge, who is British; and Renault COO Carlos Tavares, who is Portuguese.

Kelly would replace Tavares who will resign from the board effective June 26. Tavares will remain COO of Renault.

Kelly previously was corporate vice president for Nissan before being promoted to senior vice president in 2009. He joined the company in 1988 as a human resources director.