Taiwan's Foxconn taps former Nissan and Nidec heavyweight Seki for EV business

(Reuters) -Taiwan's Foxconn said on Monday it had hired former Nissan Motor Co and Nidec Corp executive Jun Seki as its chief strategy officer for electric vehicles, adding a high-profile auto executive to bolster its industry ambitions.

Seki, once seen as a contender for the top job at Nissan, later went to motor maker Nidec, holding the role of chief executive before having to resign to take responsibility for a deterioration in the company's earnings.

Seki had been recruited to Nidec from Nissan by Nidec's hard-driving founder Shigenobu Nagamori in 2020 to help Nidec become a major player in components for next-generation automobiles.

Seki became CEO in June 2021 but was demoted less that a year later with Nagamori expressing dissatisfaction with the company's performance and stock price. Nidec said he would resign in Septemeber last year.

Seki spent three decades at Nissan, including a stint heading its China business. He was widely seen as a contender for chief executive, but was passed over for the current chief, Makoto Uchida.

He left Nissan for Nidec not long after being charged with leading the automaker's turnaround plan.

(Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Kim Coghill and Muralikumar Anantharaman)