Foxconn taps former Nissan, Nidec heavyweight for EV business

Taiwan's Foxconn taps former Nissan and Nidec heavyweight Seki for EV business Nissan Motor executive officer and vice-COO Jun Seki speaks at Nissan Motor headquarters in Yokohama.

On Monday, Foxconn said that it had hired former Nissan Motor Co and Nidec Corp executive Jun Seki as its chief strategy officer for electric vehicles, adding a high-profile auto executive to bolster its industry ambitions.

Seki, once seen as a contender for the top job at Nissan, went to the motor maker Nidec and held the position of chief executive before having to resign to take responsibility for the company's earnings.

In 2020, Seki had been recruited by Nidec's hard-driving founder Shigenobu Nagamori to Nidec from Nissan to help Nidec become a major player in components for next-generation automobiles.

Seki was appointed CEO in June 2021, but was reduced a year later, with Nagamori expressing discontent with the company's performance and stock price. Nidec said last year he would resign.

Seki spent three decades at Nissan, including a stint in China. He was widely seen as a contender for the chief executive, but was passed over for the current chief, Makoto Uchida.

He left Nissan for Nidec not long after he was charged with leading the automaker's turnaround plan.