Nissan will lose two of its manufacturing leaders to retirement in late March.
Mark Swenson, vice president of Decherd Powertrain Operations, and Mike Steck, vice president of Supply Chain Management, will retire March 31. Both work in the company’s headquarters in Tennessee.
“I want to recognize and thank Mark and Mike for their significant contributions and more than 60 years of combined, dedicated service to our company,” said Steve Marsh, senior vice president, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Nissan North America. “Both have played invaluable roles in achieving world-class levels of manufacturing excellence. We wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Swenson was appointed to his current position in August 2020. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the organization’s engine product operations. Previously, he served as vice president, total customer satisfaction and was accountable for all product safety and customer quality issues in the North American region. He also has served as vice president of production engineering and quality. He joined Nissan in 1989 as a product engineer and has held multiple positions since 1997, when he was first promoted to the management team.
Steck was appointed to his current position as vice president of supply chain management in April 2009. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing supply chain activities for all production parts, service parts and finished vehicle distribution in the U.S. and Mexico. He joined Nissan in 1989 as an industrial engineer for body assembly plant operations at the Smyrna, Tennessee, manufacturing facility. He joined the management team in 1995 as body assembly quality control manager and has since held numerous leadership positions in manufacturing and production. In 2005, Steck was named senior director of human resources for Nissan’s Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee, facilities and the Canton, Mississippi, plant. In 2008, he was appointed senior director of talent management at Nissan North America headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.
Succeeding Swenson is Tracy Church, currently senior director, parts and production control, coordinating inventory, planning and more for Nissan’s U.S. and Mexico plants. Church will take leadership of Nissan’s powertrain operations in the U.S., marking the first time a woman has been appointed to the role. Church joined Nissan in 1995 and has worked in all of Nissan’s U.S. manufacturing locations in a number of roles.
Chris Styles, currently senior director, supply chain logistics, will succeed Steck. As senior director of supply chain logistics, Styles was responsible for finished vehicle and inbound production parts logistics, supplier packaging engineering and logistics strategy for the U.S., Canada and Mexico operations. Styles joined Nissan in 2002 and has held management roles within the company’s U.S. and Mexico supply chain operations.
“We’re fortunate to have Tracy’s and Chris’ vast experience and deep knowledge to drive our manufacturing operations forward as we continue to deliver on Nissan’s transformation plan,” said Marsh.
