Thierry Sabbagh has been appointed Divisional Vice President and President, Middle East, KSA, CIS and India – Nissan and Infiniti, with his remit expanding to include Nissan India. The move reinforces Nissan’s focus on growth markets and aligns strategy across regions with shared product, consumer and operational opportunities.
Thierry Sabbagh has stepped into a significantly expanded executive role at Nissan and Infiniti, underscoring the group’s renewed strategic focus on fast-growing and high-priority markets across Asia, the Middle East and the CIS. With his appointment as Divisional Vice President and President, Middle East, KSA, CIS and India – Nissan and Infiniti, Sabbagh will now also oversee Nissan India, widening a leadership remit that already spans some of the company’s most diverse commercial landscapes.
Sabbagh brings extensive experience across the automotive value chain, including retail, brand-building, product strategy and regional operations. Within the Middle East, he has been credited with strengthening Nissan’s market presence, advancing dealer partnerships and accelerating brand-led transformation initiatives, particularly in the SUV segment. The company’s decision to broaden his leadership footprint signals confidence in his ability to harmonise strategy across regions that operate at different levels of market maturity, regulation and consumer demand.
For Nissan and Infiniti, India represents both a challenge and an opportunity. While competition in the market is intense and price-sensitive, demand continues to shift toward technologically advanced vehicles, safety-linked product upgrades and global design platforms. The integration of India into Sabbagh’s portfolio is expected to streamline decision-making, consolidate regional synergies and support a more unified approach to product roadmap planning. Industry observers say that aligning India with wider Middle East and CIS strategies may open the door for shared platforms, improved export pathways and a rebalanced production strategy that leverages scale and efficiency.
This leadership change comes at a time when the broader automotive industry is negotiating transformational trends: electrification, connected mobility, regulatory tightening and consumers increasingly seeking differentiated experiences from their vehicles. Nissan, which has been charting its own course in the EV space with the Leaf and subsequent technology investments, is also reassessing how regional markets will contribute to long-term electrification goals. Sabbagh’s cross-market mandate may help establish clearer bridges between customer expectations, infrastructure readiness and Nissan’s product pipelines.
His appointment also adds momentum to Infiniti’s ambitions to regain competitive ground in luxury and performance segments. In several of the markets under Sabbagh’s purview, luxury automotive is benefiting from demographic shifts, rising disposable incomes and a consumer preference for global marques with strong service footprints. Infiniti’s strategic recalibration in design, cabin experience and technology could benefit from more synchronized leadership across markets with shared buyer sensibilities.
For stakeholders—ranging from dealer partners to regulators—the expanded role introduces a single point of strategic accountability. By integrating operations under an executive with deep regional familiarity, Nissan aims to reduce friction, accelerate speed-to-market and balance portfolio priorities with the agility required in fast-moving emerging economies.
As the company continues to navigate a mix of competitive pressures and growth opportunities, Sabbagh’s appointment serves as both a signal of organizational confidence and an investment in long-term execution. The coming period will likely reveal how this cross-regional leadership structure translates into product decisions, customer experience improvement and broader commercial outcomes for Nissan and Infiniti across the Middle East, KSA, CIS and India.
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