Nissan has poached veteran General Motors executive Antonio 'Toti' Zara to lead its Philippine operations. Zara was previously Managing Director for International Sales at GM Korea. He also served as Vice President of ASEAN Sales, Service and Marketing at GM Southeast Asia, Chevrolet Thailand, and president of Sales at General Motors Japan. He was also Director for Sales, Service, Marketing of GM Indonesia, and Direct for Sales of GM Philippines.

“I am happy to welcome Antonio as the new president and managing director of NPI,” said Toru Hasegawa, Corporate vice president of Asia and Oceania Business, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and president of Nissan Motor Asia Pacific Co. Ltd.

Zara will replace Kenji Naito who has been appointed as senior vice president to oversee ASEAN sales at Nissan Motor Asia Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

“This is an exciting time for us in the Philippines and I am very happy to have such a seasoned executive join us to grow the business in this dynamic market,” Hasegawa added.

Naito, a 28-year Nissan veteran served as president and managing director of Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI), a joint-venture company with Universal Motors Corporation and Nissan Motor Philippines Inc.