• by Tanya Gazdik , September 17, 2025

Nissan has hired back a former employee to take over marketing after the exit of Vinay Shahani after less than two years. 

Michael Soutter assumes the position effective immediately of senior vice president, U.S. marketing and sales, Nissan and Infiniti. 

In this role, he will be responsible for all marketing and sales activities for the Nissan brand in the U.S., while also overseeing the Infiniti business in the Americas. He will be based at Nissan Americas headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. 

Shahani is departing Nissan to “take an opportunity outside of the automotive industry that allows him to remain closer to his family,” according to the automaker. 

"Since rejoining the company in early 2024, Vinay has led the charge to redefine the Nissan and Infiniti brands and put us back in our rightful place in the market and in the minds of customers," said Christian Meunier, chairman, Nissan Americas, in a release. "Vinay has been a tireless champion for Nissan and Infiniti, and we will miss his commitment and innovative spirit. We wish him the best as he steps into the next chapter of his career.”

Shahani could not be reached for comment. 

Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan's chief marketing officer in the U.S., is unaffected by the moves. Since she reported to Shahani, it is expected she will report to Soutter, says a Nissan spokesperson. 

According to Soutter’s LinkedIn profile, he left Nissan in January 2024 and has spent the last 20 months as an automotive and market consultant at GSD Consulting in Canada, where his focus has been “automotive dealer performance improvements (profit, customer satisfaction and retention, employee recruiting and retention).” 

Souter spent 10 years and seven months at Nissan, including nine months as executive automotive and market consultant in Canada. 

From 2018-2022, he served as vice president, aftersales, Nissan Americas, based in Franklin, Tennessee. He subsequently moved to Japan and was named corporate vice president, leading Nissan's Global Aftersales business from 2022-2023. 

Prior to Nissan, he spent more than 10 years at General Motors Canada, first as a warehouse operator and then as an analyst.  

"Mike is a strong and experienced leader within Nissan who brings a track record of success working with our dealer partners," Meunier says. "As we continue to build momentum in the U.S., Mike is the right person to drive our efforts to enhance the Nissan and Infiniti brands, deliver great customer experiences and grow our sales in a competitive market."