The Global Nissan President Award recognizes the best initiatives that drive business performance from around the world. The winner of the Trophy in the Executive category was declared on July 23, with the honour bestowed upon Christian Meunier, president of Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI).
Meunier was responsible for propelling NCI to "top tier" status, which earned his team a nomination in the Global Nissan President Award's Employee category last month. Under Meunier's guidance, NCI exceeded 100,000 unit sales in one year for the first time in its history and increased retail sales by an astounding 48 per cent from fiscal year 2012 (FY2012) to 2014 (FY2014). In the same two-year time frame, the Infiniti brand grew by 19 percent, exceeding 10,000 unit sales for the first time in Canada. All this made NCI the fastest growing brand in Canada since mid-2013.
"I'm very honoured to receive this award. It's a great recognition, not only for me, but for the entire Nissan Canada team. I'd like to express my thanks to the executive committee for having confidence in me. I think by now everyone has realized that Canada isn't the 51st state of the United States," said Meunier. "It's a country that is changing at lightning speed, with a lot of potential for future growth. So, despite our progress so far, we still have a lot of work on our plate."
Meunier laid the foundation for his team by completely re-organizing NCI, injecting it with a new leadership culture that stressed cross functionality, while remaining nimble with a strong focus on governance and results. He implemented a plan to strengthen Nissan's Canadian dealer network and improved distribution at the regional level.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn added: "When I asked Christian to take this position, I told him that he would need to do something nobody imagined was possible. Back then, our performance in Canada was not strong, but Christian took the job because of the challenge. What's important here was not so much the performance that has been delivered—which is remarkable when compared to the past—but the collaborative way in which it was accomplished, with the whole team, including the dealer network and the way he worked with the U.S. We are not only rewarding the performance, but the way the performance was reached."
Under Meunier's leadership, NCI was also awarded the prestigious Gold Prize in the Amazing Integrated Marketing Communications Program (A-IMC) for its "Conquer All ConditionsOpens in a new tab.", opens in a new tab, campaign.
The A-IMC, a program that raises awareness of great marketing and communications around the world, chose the grand prize winner from four deserving finalists: Nissan Europe (Best Strategy), NCI (Most Creative), Nissan North America (Most Engaging) and Nissan Japan (Avant Garde). The panel, which is made up of several global Nissan brand, marketing and communications leaders, called NCI's entry "beautifully written and directed, and made a hero of the car…and makes Nissan a clearly recognizable automotive brand."
# # #
