Nissan taps Microsoft exec to lead global communications

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. has hired Microsoft communications manager Jonathan Adashek as its chief communications officer, effective Sept. 30.

He will replace Jeff Kuhlman, who has decided to return to the U.S. for family reasons, Nissan said in a statement today.

Adashek comes to Nissan after nearly four years at the American software giant, where he most recently served as general manager for communications strategy in the office of the chief operating officer, according to his LinkedIn profile. At Nissan, he will be vice president for global communications.

Nissan has a history of having non-Japanese head global communications out of its Yokohama headquarters, an outgrowth of the diverse management recruited by CEO Carlos Ghosn, who is himself a Brazilian-born Frenchman of Lebanese ancestry.

Some rivals, though, have experimented.

Mazda Motor Corp. has had a foreigner at the helm. More recently Toyota Motor Corp. hired former General Motors veteran Julie Hamp to be its chief communications officer and first female top executive. Hamp resigned in July, however, after only a few months in the job following her arrest in Japan for allegedly violating customs rules. She was never charged and was replaced by a Japanese executive.

Before Microsoft, Adashek was an executive vice president at the public relations firm Edelman. Earlier government and political work included time as a strategist for the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat John Kerry.

Adashek began his career at the White House, in the Office of the Staff Secretary, Nissan said.

He holds a degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kuhlman joined Nissan in late 2011 after heading communications at Audi of America and holding key public relations positions at GM. In 2013, Kuhlman was promoted to vice president at Nissan, reporting directly to CEO Ghosn.

At Nissan, Kuhlman crafted communications during an era that included the automaker’s battle against export-crippling foreign exchange rates and the company's rollout of its first commonized modular vehicle with alliance partner Renault SA.

In a posting on his Facebook page, Kuhlman said he would be returning to the U.S. and looking forward to "the next adventure, which includes a new professional challenge."

He did not elaborate.