As head of Nissan Americas, Jeremie Papin has orchestrated a product renaissance — and done so while juggling a pandemic and a laundry list of supply chain crises.

Papin, 49, has also led a business pivot that shifts Nissan’s historical focus on volume to one emphasizing profitability. 

“We are different from what we were,” Papin told Automotive News. “We speak about the products, we speak about the brand — we don’t speak about the deal. We’re focused on the customer experience.”

The Japanese automaker’s “Nissan Next” strategy is beginning to pay dividends. A freshened product portfolio has revived consumer interest in the brand and raised dealer profitability and sentiment. The brand’s U.S. sales rose 12 percent last year, a bold reversal from 2020 when it suffered its most significant annual percentage decline.

Papin must now guide Nissan into the electric age, which will include converting the Canton, Miss., factory into an EV production site.

“There will be a significant increase in the number of EV models for sale in the Nissan portfolio,” Papin said. “We will be bringing new models at price points where we have customers.”

Papin, a former finance executive, joined the Nissan-Renault alliance in 2009. Following a three-year stint leading strategy and business development at Renault, Papin joined Nissan North America as CFO in 2018. 

It’s been a swift rise up the ranks for the Frenchman.

In April 2021, Papin was elevated to chairman of the Americas, giving him oversight of Nissan’s operations across North and South America. It was a return to a management structure across the hemisphere that Nissan adopted in 2007 to increase market penetration in Latin America. In 2014, Nissan ditched that strategy to focus on driving U.S. share.