Nissan Americas Has New Head of Corporate Social Responsibility

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FRANKLIN, TN--Aug. 23, 2011: Nissan Americas today announced that Vicki Smith has been named senior manager, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), effective immediately. In her new role, Smith will be responsible for leading Nissan Americas' philanthropic and community outreach activities, which include Nissan Neighbors, a community giving program focused on education, the environment and humanitarian aid. Concurrent with this appointment, Smith is also named executive director, Nissan Foundation, with responsibility for overseeing activities related to the Foundation's support of educational programs that celebrate and foster diversity.

Globally, Nissan's CSR vision is to "Enrich people's lives." Fulfilling this vision means continually striving to be a corporation that society views as essential. To fulfill the role of a good corporate citizen, now and into the next generation, Nissan provides support to initiatives that build trust among all its stakeholders.

"Vicki brings the perfect blend of global corporate knowledge, communication skill and strong community relationships to her new role," said David Reuter, vice president, Corporate Communications, Nissan Americas. "We're strengthening the alignment of Nissan's philanthropy and community involvement across our operations worldwide, while continuing to meet the needs of individual communities where we have a presence -- and Vicki's global experience and strengths as a communicator will play an important role in that effort."

Since joining Nissan in 1986, Smith has held positions of increasing responsibility in corporate and manufacturing communications, including a three-year assignment at Nissan's global headquarters in Japan. Most recently, she served as a speechwriter for Nissan's global senior leadership team, including Nissan's president and CEO, Carlos Ghosn. Earlier in her Nissan career, she supported internal and external communications activities at the company's Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant.

"We're very privileged to have Vicki join our Nissan Foundation team," said Scott Becker, senior vice president, Administration and Finance, Nissan North America and president, Nissan Foundation. "Vicki is already active in several community programs, and I expect her experience in these matters to bring a focus to our philanthropic efforts."

Smith holds a bachelor's degree from David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University) in Nashville, Tenn., and a master's degree in business administration from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

About Nissan Americas

In the Americas, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and was recognized as an ENERGY STARŪ Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 and 2011.